The Healthcare Safety Environment: Egyptian Health Practitioners’ Attitude to Medical Errors
Raouf M. Afifi *
Community Health Institute, International Management-Health Services Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, USA and Healthcare Excellence Research Center, Cairo, Egypt
Amani Qulali
Community Health Institute, International Management-Health Services Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, USA and Healthcare Excellence Research Center, Cairo, Egypt
Ahmed A. El Raggal
Department of Health, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Ministry of Electricity and Energy, Cairo, Egypt
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Medical errors overwhelm the healthcare environment worldwide.
Aim: Identify correlates of the healthcare workers’ attitude toward medical errors prevention within the health facility environment.
Methods: Healthcare providers from selected private health organizations in greater Cairo, Egypt were surveyed; their work load, burnout, leader-member exchange quality; their influences upon health workers’ attitude toward medical errors prevention were analyzed.
Results: Among 5,725 health professionals surveyed, 2,260 (39.5%) returned valid responses. Participants’ mean age was 33.4 years (±7.76SD); male-female ratio was 1.26:1. Nursing predominate other occupations, e.g., 35.4% vs. 21.6% physicians. Both leadership member exchange quality and health workers’ attitude toward medical errors prevention scores were significantly higher in male workers [t(df=2258)=0.106, p<0.05; t(df=2258)=1.22, p<0.05, respectively]. Leader-member exchange and attitude toward medical errors prevention scores varied by occupation [F(df=4, 2,255)=2.48, p=0.045]; physicians score higher than technicians, nurse, and pharmacists, [F(df=4, 2,255)=6.65, p=0.02]. Participants’ leader-member exchange score increased by age [F(df=3, 2,237)=3.52, p=0.016]. Burnout score decreased by decreasing age [F(df=3, 2,237)=3.37, p=0.042]. Leader-member exchange and health workers’ attitude toward medical errors prevention are correlated (r= 0.16, p=0.015). Workload positively correlated with burnout (r= 0.351, p<0.001), and inversely correlated with attitude toward medical errors prevention (r= ‒0.161, p<0.016). Otherwise, health workers’ attitude toward medical errors prevention and burnout inversely correlated (r=-0.473, p<0.001). Burnout could predict changes in the health workers’ attitude toward medical errors prevention (β= ‒0.032, p<0.001); work experience was a predictor for burnout (β = ‒0.122, p=0.008).
Conclusions: Work stressors impact health workers’ health workers’ attitude toward medical errors prevention, including private health workers, who are often under a financial target pressure. Given their favorable health workers’ attitude toward medical errors prevention and leader-member exchange profile, older health workers can play a role in combating medical errors risk in the healthcare institutions arena.
Keywords: Health workers, medical errors, Cairo, Egypt