Effects of an Education Program on Prevention of Malpractice using Precedent Cases related to Patient Safety in Safety Perception, Safety Control, Autonomy and Accountability in Clinical Nurses

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of an education program on safety perception, safety control, autonomy and accountability in clinical nurses. Precedent cases related to patient safety were used in the education program. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest measures was used. Participants in the study, 72 nurses in the experimental group, 71 nurses in the control group, were enrolled for 3 months. The education program was composed of the 20 precedent cases related to patient safety from home and foreign countries. Results: The major findings of this study were as follows: Safety perception (p=.000), Safety control (p=.000), attitude toward autonomy (p=.000), and attitude toward accountability (p=.000) improved after the education program. Conclusion: The findings from this study indicate that an education program using precedent cases is an efficient method to improve behavior and change attitudes towards protecting patients' safety and preventing malpractice claims against nurses.