The Association Between Health Care Staff Engagement and Patient Safety Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Journal article


Janes, G., Mills, T., Budworth, L., Johnson, J. and Lawton, R. (2021). The Association Between Health Care Staff Engagement and Patient Safety Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Patient Safety. 17 (3), pp. 207-216. https://doi.org/10.1097/PTS.0000000000000807
AuthorsJanes, G., Mills, T., Budworth, L., Johnson, J. and Lawton, R.
Abstract

Objectives: Despite decades of research, improving health care safety remains a global priority. Individual studies have demonstrated links between staff engagement and care quality, but until now, any relationship between engagement and patient safety outcomes has been more speculative. This systematic review and meta-analysis therefore assessed this relationship and explored if the way these variables were defined and measured had any differential effect.

Methods: After systematic searches of Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Embase, Cochrane Library, and National Institute for Health Research Journals databases, narrative and random-effects meta-analyses were completed, with pooled effect sizes expressed as Pearson r.

Results: Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria, 11 of which were suitable for meta-analysis. Meta-analyses indicated a small but consistent, statistically significant relationship between staff engagement and patient safety (all outcomes; 11 studies; r = 0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.07 to 0.36; n = 30,490) and 2 patient safety outcome categories: patient safety culture (7 studies;r = 0.22; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.41; n = 27,857) and errors/adverse events (4 studies;r = −0.20; 95% CI, −0.26 to −0.13; n = 2633). The specific approach to conceptualizing engagement did not affect the strength of the findings.

Conclusions: This is the first review to demonstrate a significant relationship between engagement and both safety culture scores and errors/adverse events. Despite a limited and evolving evidence base, we cautiously conclude that increasing staff engagement could be an effective means of enhancing patient safety. Further research is needed to determine causality and clarify the nature of the staff engagement/patient safety relationship at individual and unit/workgroup levels.

Keywordspatient safety, health care staff, engagement, patient outcomes
Year2021
JournalJournal of Patient Safety
Journal citation17 (3), pp. 207-216
PublisherWolters Kluwer
ISSN1549-8425
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1097/PTS.0000000000000807
Web address (URL)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7984750/
Publication dates
Print01 Apr 2021
Publication process dates
Deposited31 Aug 2022
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Open
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