A study of error reporting by nurses: the significant impact of nursing team dynamics

J Res Nurs. 2023 Aug;28(5):354-364. doi: 10.1177/17449871231194180. Epub 2023 Oct 25.

Abstract

Background: Error reporting is crucial for organisational learning and improving patient safety in hospitals, yet errors are significantly underreported.

Aims: The aim of this study was to understand how the nursing team dynamics of leader inclusiveness, safety climate and psychological safety affected the willingness of hospital nurses to report errors.

Methods: The study was a cross-sectional design. Self-administered surveys were used to collect data from nurses and nurse managers. Data were analysed using linear mixed models. Bootstrap confidence intervals with bias correction were used for mediation analysis.

Results: Leader inclusiveness, safety climate and psychological safety significantly affected willingness to report errors. Psychological safety mediated the relationship between safety climate and error reporting as well as the relationship between leader inclusiveness and error reporting.

Conclusion: The findings of the study emphasise the importance of nursing team dynamics to error reporting and suggest that psychological safety is especially important to error reporting.

Keywords: cross-sectional studies; hospitals; mediation analysis; nurse administrators; organisational culture; patient safety.