Improving Healthcare Workforce and Patient Safety: A Scoping Meta-Review

Details

• Journal Article:
  Workplace Health & Safety
• Personal Author:
  Braun, Barbara I. ; Bozikis, Michele R. ; Casey, Megan L. ; Weissman, David N. ; Orze, Katherine J. ; Riehle, Annette ; DeJoy, David M.
• Description:
  Background: Despite recognition of the integral relationship between healthcare worker (HCW) safety and patient safety, few studies have evaluated practices that improve safety for both groups. We undertook a scoping meta-review including only systematic reviews (SRs) to determine the extent to which existing literature identifies practices likely to benefit both HCW safety/well-being and patient safety and remaining research questions. Methods: Literature searches were conducted for SRs and meta-analyses from 2011 to 2020 that reported outcome measures related to improving HCW safety/well-being or organizational safety culture as well as patient safety. After multi-stage screening, studies were classified as relationship/association or focused on a specific practice. Among practice-focused, those that found positive outcomes for both HCW/organizations and patients were considered potentially promising practices. Information was extracted on topic area, interventions, care settings, HCW type, outcomes measured and improvements. Findings: Of 1,619 abstracts, 114 reviews met all inclusion criteria. Major topic groups were Worker Safety/Well-being (n = 33), Operational Practices (n = 34), Organization Safety Culture (n = 24), and Patient Safety/Quality (n = 23). Of 78 reviews addressing specific practices, 48 described practices likely to benefit both groups. Practices/interventions targeting how work is organized were most promising (subtopics staffing/human resources; structure, policies/procedures; human factors engineering). Practices addressing teamwork and engagement suggest opportunities to enhance safety climate. Conclusions/Application to Practice: A wide range of practices and topic areas may directly and/or indirectly improve safety for both HCWs/organizations and patients, suggesting an integrated approach to examining interventions and operational practices. Occupational health/safety and patient safety leaders should consider collaborating to implement promising practices. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Health Personnel
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Health care workers
  • Well-being
  • Safety research
  • Safety culture
  • Safety practices
  • Organizational design
  • Author Keywords: healthcare worker safety
  • patient safety
  • promising practices
  • safety culture
• ISSN:
  2165-0799
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta Region OSHA ; Chicago Region OSHA ; Georgia ; Illinois ; Pennsylvania ; Philadelphia Region OSHA ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory ; RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  24 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071743
• Citation:
  Workplace Health Saf 2026 Jun; :Epub ahead of print
• Contact Point Address:
  Barbara I. Braun, PhD, The Joint Commission, One Renaissance Blvd, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181, USA
• Email:
  bbraun4@uic.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259968/cdc_259968_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.62 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:086171cf711b1d6419f40baf19ae063f02e72aa962509c6d9cf40d52179f42545741821c515b895288ca71ea478a7074316bc26800adfc8b3f4bac9cdb80b34a