Impacts of Job Stress and Cognitive Failure on Patient Safety Incidents among Hospital Nurses

BACKGROUND This study aimed to identify the impacts of job stress and cognitive failure on patient safety incidents among hospital nurses in Korea. METHODS The study included 279 nurses who worked for at least 6 months in five general hospitals in Korea. Data were collected with self-administered questionnaires designed to measure job stress, cognitive failure, and patient safety incidents. RESULTS This study showed that 27.9% of the participants had experienced patient safety incidents in the past 6 months. Factors affecting incidents were found to be shift work [odds ratio (OR) = 6.85], cognitive failure (OR = 2.92), lacking job autonomy (OR = 0.97), and job instability (OR = 1.02). CONCLUSION Patient safety incidents were affected by shift work, cognitive failure, and job stress. Many countermeasures to reduce the incidents caused by shift work, and plans to reduce job stress to reduce the workers' cognitive failure are required. In addition, there is a necessity to reduce job instability and clearly define the scope and authority for duties that are directly related to the patient's safety.