Healthcare professionals’ understanding and awareness of patient safety and quality of care in Africa: A survey study
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Date
2010
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine
Abstract
In Africa there is currently not a wide knowledge of patient safety and healthcare quality. There is inadequate data to
measure the scale of medical error and its impact on the healthcare.We investigated the frontline staff experience, their awareness
of medical error and willingness to participate in patient safety initiatives. This is a qualitative survey involving 60 healthcare
professionals in 2 private and 2 public hospitals in Nigeria and Uganda. Findings highlighted that frontline staff have a good
knowledge and understanding of medical error. Thirty percent of the participants said errors occur frequently while only 3.3%
were not sure of how often errors occur in their hospitals.
Inadequate research on patient safety in literature at present does not mean that medical errors or other issues that undermine
patient safety do not occur in Africa. Factors that cause medical errors and the impact of such errors are known to healthcare
professionals. They are willing to participate in healthcare improvement programmes. Our findings show the relevance of patient
safety in the region and provide a focus for further work that would ultimately contribute to the identification of appropriate
interventions that could improve patient safety in Africa.
Description
Keywords
Patient safety, Medical error, Africa, Healthcare professionals
Citation
Ente, C., Oyewumi, A., & Mpora, O. B. (2010). Healthcare professionals’ understanding and awareness of patient safety and quality of care in Africa: a survey study. International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine, 22(2), 103-110. DOI 10.3233/JRS-2010-0499