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Linking health care workarounds and burnout to patient and worker safety: final progress report.
Authors
Halbesleben JRB
Source
Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, K01-OH-008965, 2011 Dec; :1-18
NIOSHTIC No.
20044858
Abstract
The objective of this grant was to understand how nurse burnout is associated with occupational injuries (e.g., needlesticks) by increasing the likelihood that a nurse will bypass safety procedures (called safety workarounds). While much has been written about the increase in stress and burnout among nurses, there has been little to no research linking this problem with the parallel finding of increasing occupational injuries in nursing. As a K01 award, a portion of the grant was focused on career development activities of the PI, consistent with the objectives of the career development grant program. These activities included mentored training and coursework in occupational safety and health and health care work processes. Additionally, the PI has engaged in extensive observations in health care settings to better understand nursing work processes related to safety. In addition to the career development activities, the PI has collected data from 575 nurses in five hospitals over three data collection periods. The data include participants' burnout, use of safety workarounds, and occupational injuries. These data support the predicted model where nurse burnout is associated with a higher use of workarounds, which is subsequently associated with a greater incidence of occupational injuries. These findings suggest that steps taken to reduce burnout among nurses could reduce occupational injuries through a greater adherence to safety procedures.
Keywords
Health-care; Safety-practices; Safety-measures; Behavior; Injuries; Nursing; Nurses; Health-care-personnel; Medical-personnel; Psychology; Safety-programs
Contact
Jonathon R. B. Halbesleben, Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, University of Alabama, Box 870225, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487-0225
Publication Date
20111222
Document Type
Final Grant Report
Email Address
jhalbesleben@cba.ua.edu
Funding Type
Grant
Fiscal Year
2012
NTIS Accession No.
PB2014-108841
NTIS Price
A03
Identifying No.
Grant-Number-K01-OH-008965
NIOSH Division
OEP
Source Name
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
State
AL
Performing Organization
University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa
Page last reviewed: May 11, 2023
Content source:
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Education and Information Division