dc.contributor.author | Harbitz, Martin Bruusgaard | |
dc.contributor.author | Stensland, Per Steinar | |
dc.contributor.author | Gaski, Margrete | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2022-03-29T12:45:45Z | |
dc.date.available | 2022-03-29T12:45:45Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2021-06-28 | |
dc.description.abstract | Background and objectives: General practitioners (GPs), nurses and medical secretaries (practice
staff) are responsible for the continuous provision of safe care in rural general practice. Little is
known about their role in situations where patients were or could have been harmed in a rural
setting. Therefore, we sought to investigate rural general practice staff experiences of patient
safety incidents and low quality of care.<p>
Methods: Descriptive qualitative interviews using the critical incident technique. Systematic text
condensation analysis involving GPs and practice staff in eight rural municipalities in Norway.<p>
Results: Sixteen participants (eight GPs, one nurse and seven medical secretaries) with mean work
experience of 11.8 years were interviewed for a total of 11.5 hours. We identified three main factors
that make rural GP clinics vulnerable to patient safety incidents and low quality of care: use of locums,
work overload and rough weather and distance to hospital. There was a wide range of patient safety
incidents. The healthcare personnel explained how they used local knowledge about people and
context and greater awareness of risk of error in order to prevent these incidents from happening.<p>
Conclusion: Rural GP clinics that suffer from frequent use of GP locums and work overload are
vulnerable to patient safety incidents. Practice staff use various forms of continuity of care to
prevent safety incidents from happening; this highlights the strengths but also some major safety
concerns in these GP clinics. Staff at these clinics proved to be a resource for patient safety research.<p>
Podcast: An accompanying podcast on patient safety is available as Supplementary Data, in which
Martin Bruusgaardf Harbitz and Per Stensland provide insights into the context of this study. | en_US |
dc.identifier.citation | Harbitz, Stensland, Gaski. Rural general practice staff experiences of patient safety incidents and low quality of care in Norway: an interview study. Family Practice. 2022 | en_US |
dc.identifier.cristinID | FRIDAID 1962184 | |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmab064 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0263-2136 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1460-2229 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/24632 | |
dc.language.iso | eng | en_US |
dc.publisher | Oxford University Press | en_US |
dc.relation.ispartof | Harbitz, M.B. (2022). Exploring patient safety in rural general practice - a mixed-methods approach. (Doctoral thesis). <a href=https://hdl.handle.net/10037/26905>https://hdl.handle.net/10037/26905</a> | |
dc.relation.journal | Family Practice | |
dc.rights.accessRights | openAccess | en_US |
dc.rights.holder | Copyright 2021 The Author(s) | en_US |
dc.title | Rural general practice staff experiences of patient safety incidents and low quality of care in Norway: an interview study | en_US |
dc.type.version | publishedVersion | en_US |
dc.type | Journal article | en_US |
dc.type | Tidsskriftartikkel | en_US |
dc.type | Peer reviewed | en_US |