A National Study Links Nurses’ Physical and Mental Health to Medical Errors and Perceived Worksite Wellness

Published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the following study aimed to describe (1) nurses’ physical and mental health; (2) the relationship between health and medical errors; and (3) the association between nurses’ perceptions of wellness support and their health. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted with 1790 nurses across the US. Over half of the nurses reported suboptimal physical and mental health. Approximately half of the nurses reported having medical errors in the past 5 years. Compared with nurses with better health, those with worse health were associated with 26% to 71% higher likelihood of having medical errors. There also was a significant relationship between greater perceived worksite wellness and better health. The authors contend that Wellness must be a high priority for health care systems to optimize health in clinicians to enhance high-quality care and decrease the odds of costly preventable medical errors.

Topics:
Safety and Patient Outcomes

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