Citation

Elliott M, Page K, Worrall-Carter L. Contemp. Nurse 2012; 43(1): 22-28.

Affiliation

St Vincent's Centre for Nursing Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 2. Holmesglen Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.5172/conu.2012.43.1.22

PMID

23343229

Abstract

Adverse events are unintended harm to a patient caused by the health care provided; more than half of all these events have been deemed avoidable. Adverse events are a common problem in acute care and represent a breach in care quality and safety. They are generally not caused by a single mistake or error and although safety barriers exist in health care, patients today are still harmed. Using an accident causation model is a constructive way of identifying the underlying causes of adverse events and to strengthen a study's theoretical underpinnings. Reason's model is recommended as a useful framework for adverse event analysis as it promotes a focus on the conditions or situation in which the clinician was trying to perform, rather than apportioning blame.

Language: en