Discrimination can contribute to health inequities and exacerbate disparities in cancer care. In this study, researchers used a survey tool and qualitative interviews to explore the experiences of perceived discrimination for Black women and how it impacts cervical cancer prevention. Study findings suggest that perceived high degrees of discrimination create mistrust between patients and providers and can impact health outcomes.

Burnout, characterized by emotional exhaustion that results in depersonalization and decreased accomplishment at work, is correlated with poor patient safety culture. Multiple initiatives to measure and reduce healthcare worker burnout have emerged recently. This Department of Defense study used the AHRQ Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture to determine the scope of burnout in military hospitals, explore the relationship between burnout and teamwork, and explore effects of teamwork on burnout.

Implicit biases can degrade decision making as they impact heuristics, test result interpretation, and patient/physician communication. This article highlights efforts to understand implicit biases in health care professionals. It discusses initiatives and tools in development to reduce the presence of unconscious bias in health care.

While preventable physical harm, such those from as wrong-site surgery or medication errors, have been the main focus of the patient safety movement, less attention has been paid to preventable psychological, or dignitary, harms. In this commentary, the authors present how dignitary harms do, and do not, fit into the patient safety field and how they can be addressed.

Nurses have reported experiencing horizontal abuse and bullying (e.g., bullying by other nurses) and perceive that workplace bullying results in errors. Using posts from the social media site Reddit, researchers sought to understand who perpetrates the abuse, types of abuse, perceived reasons, nurses’ responses, and location of abuse. Organizational strategies such as mindfulness, reshaping the culture, bystander interventions and explicit leadership support are suggested to prevent nurse co-worker abuse.

Committing errors can result in significant emotional impact on clinicians. In this study, a survey of medical assistants in Germany found that poor collaboration was a key predictor of concerns for having committed a medical error.

The quality and culture of the health care work environment is known to affect care delivery. This commentary discusses human-centered and participatory design approaches as avenues for developing improvements in clinician well-being that will enhance safety for staff, providers, and patients.

Workers who experience psychological safety in their organization are more likely to speak up about safety concerns. This study reports on how trust and psychological safety interact to increase error reporting. Results indicate that trust in leaders encouraged error reporting and psychological safety encouraged learning from mistakes.

Racism is increasingly seen as a major contributor to poor maternal care and adverse outcomes. This article summarizes racial health disparities impacting patients in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and interventions to reduce racial bias in the NICU.

A culture of safety is foundational to successful patient safety initiatives. This systematic review explored the relationship between safety climate and safety-related behaviors across various industries, including healthcare.

Missteps in the labeling and registration of child injury as abuse can result in harm for patients and families. This article discusses the impact of implicit bias on reporting actions and shares tactics to minimize the influence of cognitive error on recognizing and reporting of child mistreatment.

Speaking up behaviors among healthcare workers is indicative of psychological safety and a culture of safety. This survey of healthcare staff working at seven sites across one hospital network in Australia found that speaking up behaviors are influenced by whether staff feel empowered in their roles and supported by their peers and supervisors.