Importance of safety climate, teamwork climate and demographics: understanding nurses, allied health professionals and clerical staff perceptions of patient safety

Background: There is growing evidence regarding the importance of contextual factors for patient/staff outcomes and the likelihood of successfully implementing safety improvement interventions such as checklists; however, certain literature gaps still remain—for example, lack of research examining the interactive effects of safety constructs on outcomes. This study has addressed some of these gaps, together with adding to our understanding of how context influences safety. Purpose: The impact of staff perceptions of safety climate (ie, senior and supervisory leadership support for safety) and teamwork climate on a self-reported safety outcome (ie, overall perceptions of patient safety (PS)) were examined at a hospital in Southern Ontario. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data were collected from nurses, allied health professionals and unit clerks working on intensive care, general medicine, mental health or emergency department. Results: Hierarchical regression analyses showed that perceptions of senior leadership (p<0.001) and teamwork (p<0.001) were significantly associated with overall perceptions of PS. A non-significant association was found between perceptions of supervisory leadership and the outcome variable. However, when staff perceived poorer senior leadership support for safety, the positive effect of supervisory leadership on overall perceptions of PS became significantly stronger (p<0.05). Practice implications: Our results suggest that leadership support at one level (ie, supervisory) can substitute for the absence of leadership support for safety at another level (ie, senior level). While healthcare organisations should recruit into leadership roles and retain individuals who prioritise safety and possess adequate relational competencies, the field would now benefit from evidence regarding how to build leadership support for PS. Also, it is important to provide on-site workshops on topics (eg, conflict management) that can strengthen working relationships across professional and unit boundaries.York University Librarie

An Exploratory Study of Patient Falls

Debate continues between the contribution of education level and clinical expertise in the nursing practice environment. Research suggests a link between Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing (BSN) nurses and positive patient outcomes such as lower mortality, decreased falls, and fewer medication errors. Purpose: To examine if there a negative correlation between patient falls and the level of nurse education at an urban hospital located in Midwest Illinois during the years 2010-2014? Methods: A retrospective crosssectional cohort analysis was conducted using data from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) from the years 2010-2014. Sample: Inpatients aged ≥ 18 years who experienced a unintentional sudden descent, with or without injury that resulted in the patient striking the floor or object and occurred on inpatient nursing units. Results: The regression model was constructed with annual patient falls as the dependent variable and formal education and a log transformed variable for percentage of certified nurses as the independent variables. The model overall is a good fit, F (2,22) = 9.014, p = .001, adj. R2 = .40. Conclusion: Annual patient falls will decrease by increasing the number of nurses with baccalaureate degrees and/or certifications from a professional nursing board-governing body

Nurses’ Perception of Discharging the Medically Complex Pediatric Patient

The purpose of this study is to query the nurses for their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators of discharging medically complex pediatric patients from a freestanding children’s hospital in central California. Using a mixed methods research design via an online survey, 90 nurses identified 3 distinct themes that act as barriers. Those barriers include: 1) knowing the plan of care, 2) time, and 3) disposition of the family. Several implications for improving the discharge process for medically complex patients and overcoming the identified barriers include strategies to improve multidisciplinary communication, implementation of a Family Learning Center, use of video interpreters when in-person interpreters are not available, and respect for discharge readiness. Recognizing and implementing the appropriate interventions based on nurses’ feedback have the potential to improve quality and patient safety

Tracking Foodborne Pathogens from Farm to Table: Data Needs to Evaluate Control Options

Food safety policymakers and scientists came together at a conference in January 1995 to evaluate data available for analyzing control of foodborne microbial pathogens. This proceedings starts with data regarding human illnesses associated with foodborne pathogens and moves backwards in the food chain to examine pathogen data in the processing sector and at the farm level. Of special concern is the inability to link pathogen data throughout the food chain. Analytical tools to evaluate the impact of changing production and consumption practices on foodborne disease risks and their economic consequences are presented. The available data are examined to see how well they meet current analytical needs to support policy analysis. The policymaker roundtable highlights the tradeoffs involved in funding databases, the economic evaluation of USDA's Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) proposal and other food safety policy issues, and the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach toward improving food safety databases.food safety, cost benefit analysis, foodborne disease risk, foodborne pathogens, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), probabilistic scenario analysis, fault-tree analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Technology applications

A summary of NASA Technology Utilization programs for the period of 1 December 1971 through 31 May 1972 is presented. An abbreviated description of the overall Technology Utilization Applications Program is provided as a background for the specific applications examples. Subjects discussed are in the broad headings of: (1) cancer, (2) cardiovascular disease, (2) medical instrumentation, (4) urinary system disorders, (5) rehabilitation medicine, (6) air and water pollution, (7) housing and urban construction, (8) fire safety, (9) law enforcement and criminalistics, (10) transportation, and (11) mine safety