Fatigue, burnout, work environment, workload and perceived patient safety culture among critical care nurses (9 January 2020)

Summary

This study in the British Journal of Nursing aimed to explore whether fatigue, workload, burnout and the work environment can predict the perceptions of patient safety among critical care nurses in Oman. A cross-sectional predictive design was used on a sample of 270 critical care nurses from the two main hospitals in the country's capital, with a response rate of 90%.

The authors found a negative correlation between fatigue and patient safety culture (r= -0.240), which indicates that fatigue has a detrimental effect on nurses' perceptions of safety. There was also a significant relationship between work environment, emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, personal accomplishment and organisational patient safety culture. Regression analysis showed that fatigue, work environment, emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment were predictors for overall patient safety among critical care nurses.