Date of Conferral

2018

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Services

Advisor

Cynthia Newell

Abstract

Medical errors have been detrimental in the field of medicine. They have impacted both patients and doctors. While physicians recognized that error disclosure was an ethical and professional obligation, most remained silent when mistakes happened for different reasons. Guided by the theory of planned behavior and Kant's deontological theory, the purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the perceived barriers affecting physicians' willingness to report major medical errors. An association was tested between the independent variables physician fear of disclosure of errors, organizational culture toward patient safety, physician apology, professional ethics and transparency, physician education, and the dependent variable physician willingness to disclose major medical errors. Using a cross-sectional method, 122 doctors out of 483 surveyed, completed the online and paper-based survey. Multiple linear regression and descriptive statistics models were used to analyze and summarize the data. The results showed there was a statistically significant relationship between the independent variables organizational culture toward patient safety, physician apology, professional ethics and transparency, and physician education and the dependent variable physician willingness to disclose major medical errors. There was no relationship between the independent variable fear of disclosure of errors and the dependent variable. The findings added to the knowledge base regarding barriers to physicians' medical errors disclosure. The results and recommendations could provide positive social change by helping hospitals raising doctors' awareness regarding major medical errors disclosure.

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