Researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts and several other institutions have concluded that it is feasible to engage patients and families in patient safety education.
Their research involved bringing together clinicians with patients and family (P/F) members from hospital advisory councils to discuss error disclosure and prevention. Participants were surveyed before after the discussion to assess their experiences and attitudes about collaborative safety education including participant hopes, fears, perceived value of learning experience, and challenges. They found both groups worried about “power dynamics dampening effective interaction,” the researchers write.
“Clinicians worried P/F would learn about their fallibility, while P/F were concerned about clinicians’ jargon and defensive posturing. Following workshops, clinicians valued patients’ direct feedback, communication strategies for error disclosure, and a ‘real’ learning experience,” the researchers reported in BMJ Quality and Safety. “P/F appreciated clinicians’ accountability, and insights into how medical errors affect clinicians. Half of participants found nothing challenging, the remainder clinicians cited emotions and enormity of ‘culture change,’ while P/F commented on medical jargon and desire for more time.”
The researchers concluded that both groups found the experience valuable and they offer recommendations on conducting such a program. An abstract and link to the full study are available online at http://bit.ly/2bQGvpc.
