The urgent need to identify and evaluate patient safety interventions in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings (8 July 2021)

Summary

The article in the Journal of Global Health examines the unique patient safety risks that can arise in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings (FCV), including humanitarian crises, conflict, extreme adversity, services disruption and immediate or protracted emergencies. Recent estimates suggest a large proportion of the total number of preventable deaths take place in FCV settings, including 60% of preventable maternal deaths, 53% of deaths in children under five years, and 45% of neonatal deaths.

The authors highlight a gap in knowledge and research about healthcare in FCV settings, which prevents researchers from being able to effectively assess interventions for quality, safety and sustainability. They suggest that more academic research is urgently needed in order to make policy and practice more effective in improving patient safety in these settings.