Patients' experience of patient safety information and participation in care during a hospital stay.
Bojan Tubic, Caterina Finizia, Asra Zainal Kamil and 2 others
PMID 36315031WHAT IT FOUND
Surgical patients read the safety leaflet and performed some activities, but they wanted staff to talk it through and answer questions.
Pain, fatigue and late delivery were described as barriers to using it early in admission.
Key findings
01Several patients said they lacked a clear oral presentation of the leaflet, and some received it days after admission or found it aimed at older and sicker patients.
02Participants reported performing leaflet activities such as mobilization, hand disinfection, anti-slip socks, breathing exercises, keeping informed about medications and contacting staff, even without oral information for all activities.
03Pain, fatigue, acute illness and lack of information were described as barriers to participation, especially early in the care episode.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study interviewed 20 Swedish-speaking adult surgical patients at one hospital, so it may not apply to other wards, countries or patients who could not speak Swedish or take part. Interviews happened at discharge, so patients may not have remembered or reflected on information gaps from the beginning of the stay. The authors continued including patients because some interviews were short, even though saturation was perceived, so the findings are descriptive and not a measurement of how common each experience was. Two nurse researchers who worked on included wards conducted the interviews, although they had no caring relationship with participants; their preconceptions could influence coding. Leaflet use varied over time and staff training was a single workplace meeting, so the study cannot say how consistently patients received the leaflet or oral information. The study reports experiences and activities, not measured adverse events, infections, falls or other safety outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflict of interest. The research did not receive specific funding from public, commercial or not-for-profit agencies.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the leaflet improves patient safety or that verbal briefing reduces adverse events. The study reports what 20 patients said about their experience and activities, not outcomes measured after the intervention.