Premium
Safety culture in health care teams: A narrative review of the literature
Author(s) -
O’Donovan Roisin,
Ward Marie,
De Brún Aoife,
McAuliffe Eilish
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1111/jonm.12740
Subject(s) - safety culture , organizational culture , patient safety , nursing , teamwork , health care , narrative , accountability , nursing management , medicine , psychology , public relations , political science , management , linguistics , philosophy , law , economics
Aim Explore the recent literature to examine the factors that affect safety culture within health care teams. Background Health care organisations must understand and improve their safety culture. However, safety culture is a complex phenomenon which interacts with a myriad of factors, making it difficult to define, measure and improve. Evaluation A comprehensive search strategy was used to search four major databases. Peer‐reviewed which were published in English between 2006 and 2017 and presented research studies related to safety culture in health care teams were included. A narrative analysis was undertaken. Key issues Issues relevant to the definition, measurement and improvement of safety culture, the impact of teamwork and communication on safety culture, the role of leaders and accountability are explored. Conclusion The above themes inform our understanding of developing, measuring and sustaining safety culture in health care teams. However, further research is warranted to accurately understand how to measure and improve safety culture. Implications for nursing management To support a safety culture, initiatives to facilitate effective communication between nurse practitioners and other health care professionals must be introduced. Nurse managers should adopt leadership strategies that will support nurses’ psychological safety and create a just culture.