“The healthcare safety environment: Egyptian health practitioners’ attitude to medical errors”

Advanced Research Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology ISSN 5167-4231, Vol. 3 (1), pp. 015-026, © Advanced Scholars Journals

Full length Research paper

“The healthcare safety environment: Egyptian health practitioners’ attitude to medical errors”

^*Raouf M. Afifi, ¹Amani Qulali, ²Ahmed A, El Raggal

*Community Health Institute, International Management-Health Services Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

Healthcare Excellence Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.

² Health Department, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Ministry of Electricity & Energy, Cairo, Egypt.

*Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted 26 February, 2016.

Abstract

Medical errors overwhelm the healthcare environment worldwide. Identify correlates of the healthcare workers’ attitude toward medical errors prevention. Private health organizations in greater Cairo, Egypt were surveyed; health workers’ burnout (BO), work load (WL), leader-member exchange (LMX); their influences upon attitude toward medical errors (ATEs) were analyzed. The mean age of participants was 33.4±7.7 years, male-female ratio 1.26:1. Nursing predominate other occupations, e.g., 35.4% vs. 21.6% physicians. The LMX and ATEs scores varied by occupation [F(df=4, 2,255)=2.48, p=0.045]; physicians score higher than technicians, nurse, and pharmacists, [F(df=4, 2,255)=6.65, p=0.02]. Respondents’ LMX score increased by age [F(df=3, 2,237)=3.52, p=0.016]. Burnout score decreased by decreasing age [F(df=3, 2,237)=3.37, p=0.042]. LMX and ATEs are correlated (r= 0.16, p=0.015). WL inversely correlated with ATEs (r= ‒0.161, p<0.016). Otherwise, ATEs and BO inversely correlated (r=-0.473, p<0.001). BO could predict changes in ATEs (β= ‒0.032, p<0.001); work experience was a predictor for BO (β = ‒0.122, p=0.008). Work stressors impact health workers’ ATEs, including private health workers, who are often under a financial target pressure. Given their favorable ATEs and LMX attitude, older health workers can play a role in combating medical errors risk in the healthcare institutions arena.