For each 10-point increase in the average safety climate score at a hospital, the odds of nurse injury declined by 40-45 percent, according to a study published online in BMJ Quality and Safety in October.
The study, led by Jennifer Taylor, MD, assistant professor at Drexel University's School of Public Health, examined data from a large urban hospital, including 28,876 patient discharges on 29 nursing units employing 723 registered nurses.
For each nursing unit, researchers collected nurses' responses to a survey of safety attitudes, as well as hospital-reported nurse and patient injury data collected the following year. Nurse injury data included events such as needle sticks, splashes, slips, trips and falls, while patient injury data included events such as falls, deep vein thrombosis and decubitus ulcers.
The findings also indicated that nurse turnover is a risk factor for nurse and patient injuries. With each 10 percent increase in a unit's nurse turnover rate, researchers saw a 68 percent increase in the odds of nurse injury.
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The study, led by Jennifer Taylor, MD, assistant professor at Drexel University's School of Public Health, examined data from a large urban hospital, including 28,876 patient discharges on 29 nursing units employing 723 registered nurses.
For each nursing unit, researchers collected nurses' responses to a survey of safety attitudes, as well as hospital-reported nurse and patient injury data collected the following year. Nurse injury data included events such as needle sticks, splashes, slips, trips and falls, while patient injury data included events such as falls, deep vein thrombosis and decubitus ulcers.
The findings also indicated that nurse turnover is a risk factor for nurse and patient injuries. With each 10 percent increase in a unit's nurse turnover rate, researchers saw a 68 percent increase in the odds of nurse injury.
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