Designing and validating a safety plan for patient in Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Background: There are emerging trends that correlate patient safety to positive results for patients, such as decreases in readmission and mortality rates, and an increase in patient satisfaction. Moreover, positive safety culture can also be related to a lower rate of adverse events.

Aim of the study: This study was conducted to assess patients’ risks in intensive care units to design and validate a safety plan for patients’ safety. Methods: Research design: prospective observational design is used in this study. Setting: This study was conducted in two intensive care units, one at Mansoura and the second at Assuit University Hospital. Subjects: Three groups of subjects participated in this study; staff nurses N= (41), nurse managers N= (21) and an expert’s panel N= (20). Data collections tools: two tools were used for data collection. The patient risk assessment questionnaire which includes two parts; the first part contains demographic data; the second part contained 63 risk associated items. The second tool involved validity forms to assess validity of the proposed patient safety plan. Results: the degree of risk in intensive care units ranged from low to moderate. The expert panel agreed on the validity of the proposed patient safety plan. Conclusion:  After obtaining content validity and including the given risks, a safety plan was developed. Recommendations: Each hospital’s critical care nursing staff, administrators and nurse managers, should examine how best to improve their work environment to decrease the risk in already vulnerable patients by participating in updating and dissemination of a patient safety plan.