While the majority of providers on hospitals' labor and delivery teams report witnessing patient safety problems, relatively few speak up about these problems, according to a study in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Researchers conducted a survey of labor and delivery teams to determine the frequency of four safety concerns: dangerous shortcuts, missing competencies, disrespect and performance problems. Ninety-eight percent of nurses, 93 percent of midwives and 92 percent of physicians observed at least one of these problems in the previous year, and most respondents said these problems undermined patient safety, harmed patients or led them to seriously consider transferring or leaving their positions, according to the study. However, only 13 percent of nurses, 13 percent of midwives and 9 percent of physicians spoke about their concerns with the person involved.
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The authors noted a need for personal-, social- and structural-level strategies to encourage people to speak up about their safety concerns.
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