Exploring Patient Safety Awareness and Risk Perception Among Clinical Staff and Inpatients

Abstract

Patient safety is a critical component of healthcare quality, emphasizing the prevention of avoidable human- and system-level errors throughout the care continuum. This study employed a structured questionnaire to evaluate patient safety awareness and risk perception among healthcare professionals, patients, and family members. A total of 125 valid responses from healthcare professionals and 161 responses from patients and family members were included in the analysis. Healthcare professionals most frequently reported patient safety incidents involving patient falls (58.4%), tube dislodgement (53.6%), and medication errors (40.8%). Workload assessments indicated that temporal demand and effort were rated highest, implying that increased multitasking requirements and elevated workload intensity may heighten vulnerability to error. In contrast, patients and family members demonstrated heightened awareness of risks related to falls and infections but expressed substantially lower concern regarding medication errors. This discrepancy highlights a noteworthy perceptual divergence between frontline clinical staff and care recipients concerning patient safety priorities. Overall, the findings underscore that patient safety is shaped by the interaction of human factors and organizational systems. Incorporating user-centered interface design, strengthening patient engagement strategies, and integrating ergonomic principles into clinical workflows may contribute to reducing preventable medication errors and fostering a more robust, collaborative culture of safety within healthcare organizations.

Keywords: Patient Safety Awareness, Risk Perception, Healthcare Workers, Inpatients, Questionnaire

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007472