Exploring the fear of clinical errors: associations with socio-demographic, professional, burnout, and mental health factors in healthcare workers – A nationwide cross-sectional study (26 June 2024)

Summary

The study of errors in healthcare has included examining the impact on health care workers. This has usually been when an error has occurred and has seen health care workers referred to as “second victims”.

This paper reports on a study that examined healthcare workers fears and concerns about clinical errors. The study included a nationwide, online, cross-sectional study of health care workers in France from May to June 2021 that involved more than 10,000 health care workers. The authors report that ‘To assess the fear of making clinical errors, HCW were asked: “During your daily activities, how often are you afraid of making a professional error that could jeopardize patient safety?”’ A significant proportion, 25.9%, reported ‘High fear’, with ‘higher odds of “High Fear” among males, younger individuals, and those with less professional experience’.

The study found associations between “High Fear” and burnout, low professional support, major depressive disorder, and sleep disorders. The authors conclude ‘Fear of clinical errors is associated with factors that also influence patient safety, highlighting the importance of this experience. Incorporating this dimension into patient safety culture assessment could provide valuable insights and could inform ways to proactively enhance patient safety.’