Perceptions of critical incidents and incident reporting among nurses in a tertiary Philippine hospital

Introduction: A growing advocacy in patient safety has been noted in the nursing profession attributed to the reported number of preventable injuries and errors in the delivery of health care. The development of timely and effective reporting system greatly impacts this cause. The study aimed to explore the perceptions of nurses regarding critical incidents and investigate the factors affecting their decision to report a certain event. Methodology: Six focus group discussions were conducted with 28 nurses working in the service wards of a tertiary hospital. Discussions utilized open-ended questions and prompts, targeting participants who experienced handling or being involved in critical incidents. Data gathered were analyzed using a descriptive qualitative approach adopting a deductive thematic analysis, identifying common patterns in nurses' responses, and generating more encompassing themes. Results: Three key themes emerged from the discussions. Firstly, nurses expressed their perceptions of incidents, highlighting factors influencing their recognition and classification of critical events. Secondly, the perceptions of the reporting process presented the attitudes, norms, and the prevailing incident reporting culture, further revealing barriers and facilitators to reporting. Lastly, nurses provided perceptions of management actions including suggestions to improve the reporting system, and the response of the administrators, emphasizing the need for supportive structures and processes. Discussion: Findings underscore the importance of transforming the workplace culture to foster a safe environment for incident reporting. Recommendations include comprehensive orientation programs on incident reporting protocols and cultivating trust and openness. Targeted interventions and strategies are necessary to address identified barriers and enhance the reporting system. Further research is warranted to explore and analyze error reporting practices among other healthcare professionals, thus contributing to a comprehensive understanding of incident reporting in healthcare.