Factors affecting the severity of patient safety incidents in long-term care hospital inpatients

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the characteristics of patient safety incidents among patients admitted to long-term care hospitals and the factors affecting the severity of these incidents, and provide essential data for developing strategies to prevent and manage patient safety incidents in long-term care hospitals. Method: The study utilized 7,594 patient safety report data collected from 2017 to 2022, based on Patient Safety Reporting and Learning System. Descriptive statistics and cross-analysis were conducted to identify the characteristics of patient safety incidents among inpatients of long-term care hospitals. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the related factors. All statistical analyses were carried out using the SPSS statistical program. Results: Factors identified as affecting the severity of patient safety incidents in long-term care hospital inpatients included gender, age, primary diagnosis, the impact of COVID-19, the number of beds, the location of the incident, and the type of incident. Conclusion: As the aging population leads to an increase in patient safety incidents in long-term care hospitals, it is crucial to prevent these incidents and ensure their severity does not escalate. This requires systematic safety education for all healthcare workers and efforts such as implementing patient safety incident prevention programs and monitoring systems within long-term care hospitals.