Patient Safety,Adverse Healthcare Events and Near-Misses in Obstetric Care—A Systematic Literature Review

Systematic development of a patient safety culture is necessary because lack of quality care leads to human suffering. The aim of this review was to identify evidence of obstetric adverse events (AEs) and near-misses in the context of patient safety. We conducted a search of the published literature from Europe, Australia and the USA in the following databases: Cinahl, Cochrane, Maternity and Infant Care, Ovid, Pro-quest and PubMed, guided by PRISMA procedures. A total of 427 studies were screened, 15 full papers retrieved and nine studies included in the final thematic analysis. The selected papers address a broad spectrum of adverse patient safety events in obstetric care. The themes that emerged were: type of AEs, near-misses and their consequences, strategies to support and improve Patient Safety (PS) and domains related to the WHO Patient Safety competence outcomes. The findings of the first theme were grouped into the following categories: healthcare professionals’ perspectives on ethical conflicts, attributing blame and responsibility, and patients’ perspectives on lack of trust and involvement, as well as medication errors. The second theme, strategies to support interventions to improve PS, was based on two sub-themes: communicating effectively and gaining competence by learning from adverse events, while the third theme was domains related to the WHO Patient Safety competence outcomes. In conclusion, few studies have examined strategies for managing AEs despite the existence of programmes that target the implementation of changes, such as improved teamwork training. In addition to exploring strategies to make safety a priority for patients and healthcare professionals, it is of the utmost importance to improve communication with patients and between professionals in order to maintain and enhance safety. Efforts by organizations and individuals to continuously develop knowledge about the risk of AEs and the use of best practice guidelines are also essential.

Evidence of Linkages between Patient Safety and Person-Centred Care in the Maternity and Obstetric Context—An Integrative Review

The aim was to evaluate the current state of knowledge pertaining to patient safety and its link to person-centred care. The international relevance of patient safety has expanded, as have the models of person-centred care. Inspired by this new trend, we collated and summarized the literature for evidence of the two topics. The study was guided by Russell, Whittemore and Knafl’s integrative review framework. An electronic database search was conducted for relevant articles from 2005 to 2016. This review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The structure and process of the evaluation of the evidence are described and the findings interpreted by means of a thematic synthesis. One theme emerged: trustful, safe communication in the relationship between the patient, family members and healthcare professionals and two domains;safety culture and multidisciplinary capacity building. The dominant dimension in the safety culture domain is respectful communication, which implies sharing experiences that lead to a sense of control during labour and birth and is related to the women’s feeling of personal capacity. The dominant dimensions in the multidisciplinary capacity building domain are collaborative teamwork, coordination and risk management, knowledge sharing and patient-centred communication. In conclusion, to enhance patient safety, it is necessary to develop patient-focused, evidence-based skills and guidelines as well as a supportive organization. Due to their interaction with patients, midwives’ communication competence on the part of midwives is essential for supporting the birth and fulfilling the women’s needs and expectations.