An investigation of hospital patients' willingness and ability to participate in safety-related aspects of their healthcare management

Over the years the NHS has made great strides towards engaging patients in their healthcare management. In more recent years, the way in which patients could help to improve patient safety by reducing/preventing rates of medical errors has been highlighted. However, despite growing recognition of the valuable role of the patient in improving patient safety, very little is known about patients’ preferences for taking on an active role. This thesis aims to address the current gap in the evidence base with specific reference to a hospital inpatient cohort. Review work and a series of empirical investigations were undertaken which examined patients’ willingness and ability to participate in a range of safety-related behaviours. In total, empirical data was collected from 580 medical and surgical inpatients, using quantitative and mixed-method approach methodologies. A number of conclusions can be drawn from the research. Patients were more willing to engage in long standing safety recommendations than those practices which are newer or unfamiliar to the patient. Patients were particularly reticent to engage in those behaviours that they perceive as challenging the clinical abilities of healthcare staff. Several strategies appeared to be effective for encouraging patients to participate in safety-related behaviours: namely, patient-focussed leaflets or videos, or by patients being given encouragement from the doctors or nurses involved in the patient’s care. Overall the work in this thesis strongly suggests that while there is much to gain from involving patients in safety-related aspects of their healthcare management, patients need to be educated about how to be involved and where they can access safety-related information resources. In addition, doctors and nurses can have a pivotal role in encouraging patient involvement. Thus, it is paramount that both patients and healthcare professionals support patient participation in this area and healthcare professionals actively encourage the involvement of the patient.