The AHRQ PSNet Collection comprises an extensive selection of resources relevant to the patient safety community. These resources come in a variety of formats, including literature, research, tools, and Web sites. Resources are identified using the National Library of Medicine’s Medline database, various news and content aggregators, and the expertise of the AHRQ PSNet editorial and technical teams.
McCain N, Ferguson T, Barry Hultquist T, et al. J Nurs Care Qual. 2023;38:26-32.
Daily huddles can improve team communication and awareness of safety incidents. This single-site study found that implementation of daily interdisciplinary huddles increased reporting of near-miss events and improved team satisfaction and perceived team communication, collaboration, and psychological safety.
Patient safety event taxonomies provide a standardized framework for data classification and analysis. This taxonomy for inpatient psychiatric care was developed from existing literature, national standards, and content experts to align with the common formats used by the institution’s event reporting system. Four domains (provision of care, patient actions, environment/equipment, and safety culture) were identified, along with categories, subcategories, and subcategory details.
Shao Q, Wang Y, Hou K, et al. J Adv Nurs. 2021;77:4005-4016.
Patient suicide in all settings is considered a never event. Nurses caring for the patient may experience negative psychological symptoms following inpatient suicide. This review identified five themes based on nurses’ psychological experiences: emotional experience, cognitive experience, coping strategies, self-reflection, and impact on self and practice. Hospital administrators should develop education and support programs to help nurses cope in the aftermath of inpatient suicide.
Berzins K, Baker J, Louch G, et al. Health Expect. 2020;23:549-561.
This qualitative study interviewed patients and caregivers about their experiences and perceptions of safety within mental health services. These interviews identified a broad range of safety issues; the authors suggest that patient safety in mental health services could be expanded to include harm caused trying to access services and self-harm provoked by contact with, or rejection from, services.
Archer S, Thibaut BI, Dewa LH, et al. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2019;27:211-223.
Researchers conducted focus groups in this qualitative study of staff in mental healthcare settings and assessed the barriers and facilitators to incident reporting. The authors identified unique challenges to incident reporting in mental health, including the incidence of violence and aggressive behavior. Participants often underreported violent or aggressive events because they attributed the behavior to the patient’s diagnosis, and cited dissatisfaction with how reported incidents were handled by police.
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Care Quality Commission; December 2018.
The term never events was originally coined to describe rare, devastating, and preventable events. This report provides an analysis of National Health Service (NHS) efforts to optimize use of alerts, guidance, and recommendations to prevent never events. The investigation found that NHS staff feel unsupported by training, challenged by complex processes of care to practice safely, and uncertainty regarding improvement roles at the system level.
Brickell TA, McLean C. J Patient Saf. 2011;7:39-44.
Patient safety is a relatively new domain within the mental health field. This article describes the dominant issues and priorities for improving patient safety in this field based on a consensus conference.