The role of anesthesiologists’ perceived self-efficacy in anesthesia-related adverse events

BACKGROUND: Self-efficacy, as the vital determinant of behavior, influencing clinicians’ situation awareness, work performance, and medical decision-making, might affect the incidence of anesthesia-related adverse events (ARAEs). This study was employed to evaluate the association between perceived self-efficacy level and ARAEs. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in the form of an online self-completion questionnaire-based survey. Self-efficacy was evaluated via validated 4-point Likert scales. Internal reliability and validity of both scales were also estimated via Cronbach’s alpha and validity analysis. According to the total self-efficacy score, respondents were divided into two groups: normal level group and high level group. Propensity score matching and multivariable logistic regression were employed to identify the relationship between self-efficacy level and ARAEs. RESULTS: The response rate of this study was 34%. Of the 1011 qualified respondents, 38% were women. The mean (SD) age was 35.30 (8.19) years. The Cronbach’s alpha of self-efficacy was 0.92. The KMO (KMO and Bartlett's test) value of the scale was 0.92. ARAEs occurred in 178 (33.0%) of normal level self-efficacy group and 118 (25.0%) of high level self-efficacy group. Before adjustment, high level self-efficacy was associated with a decreased incidence of ARAEs (RR [relative risk], 0.76; 95% CI [confidence interval], 0.62–0.92). After adjustment, high level self-efficacy was also associated with a decreased incidence of ARAEs (aRR [adjusted relative risk], 0.63, 95% CI, 0.51–0.77). In multivariable logistic regression, when other covariates including years of experience, drinking, and the hospital ranking were controlled, self-efficacy level (OR [odds ratio], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.46–0.82; P = 0.001) was significantly correlated with ARAEs. CONCLUSIONS: Our results found a clinically meaningful and statistically significant correlation between self-efficacy and ARAEs. These findings partly support medical educators and governors in enhancing self-efficacy construction in clinical practice and training. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12871-022-01732-3.