Healthcare professionals’ perception of knowledge and implementation of Patient Safety Incident reporting and learning guidelines in specialised care units, KwaZulu‑Natal

BACKGROUND: Despite the implementation of intervention strategies, incidents in specialised care units remain high and are of serious concern, worldwide. OBJECTIVES: To assess the healthcare professionals’ perception of knowledge and implementation of patient safety incident (PSI) reporting and learning guidelines in specialised care units of three selected public hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. METHODS: The study used a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design. A purposive sample targeted 237 healthcare professionals. An online structured questionnaire collected the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. RESULTS: A total of 181 questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 76%. Notably, 83% of respondents had high-perceived knowledge of the PSI reporting and learning guidelines, while 98% had low perceptions of their implementation. The current unit (p=0.002) and shift of the day (p=0.008) were factors associated with the perception of good knowledge of PSI reporting and learning guidelines, as indicated by a p-value ≤0.05. The respondents’ age (p=0.05), current unit (p=0.015), and shift of the day (p=0.000) were significantly associated with the perception of poor implementation of the PSI reporting and learning guidelines. CONCLUSION: The respondents demonstrated a good perception of knowledge of PSI reporting and learning guidelines; however, the perception of the implementation was poor. Therefore, a revised implementation strategy coupled with periodical in-service training for healthcare professionals is recommended, to foster and facilitate effective adherence to PSI reporting and learning guidelines. CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE STUDY: This study highlights the healthcare professionals’ perception of knowledge and implementation of the Patient Safety Incident reporting and learning guidelines in specialised care units in South Africa. The results identified weaknesses in the implementation of the guidelines; hence the necessity for the development of effective strategies to improve patient safety.