Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.)

School

Health Services

Advisor

Edessa Jobli

Abstract

In-patient hospital safety relates to healthcare facilities protecting patients from medical errors. The “problem of many hands” exists, where there is a gap in understanding who is responsible for in-patient hospital safety, nurse staffing, or leadership support. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the association between nurse staffing (nurse-to-patient ratios and hours worked) and in-patient safety (perception of in-patient safety by nurses) as well as the association between leadership support (work climate promotes patient safety and actions of hospital management to show that patient safety is a top priority) and in-patient safety (perception of in-patient safety) based on the 2018 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality survey. This study incorporated the theory of the transformational leadership, a behavior-based approach. The database consists of information from 568,524 hospital respondents. Only data from nurses surveyed were included in the analyses, making the study sample size 382,834. From a chi square analysis, it was found that nurse staffing had a statistically significant association with in-patient hospital safety, specifically the nurse-to-patient ratio. Nurses who reported working longer hours did not indicate concern with in-patient hospital safety, and this result was statistically significant. The findings of this study also showed that leadership support was significantly associated with in-patient hospital safety. Recommendations include further research surrounding in-patient hospital safety and the association between patient safety culture and interventions on an organizational level. Implications for social change encourage promoting the idea that leadership, along with nurses, should have a hands-on approach to ensure in-patient hospital safety in healthcare organizations.

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