Patient reporting of undesirable events: a pilot study in China.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the frequency of undesirable events reported by patients during hospitalization and explore the relationship between undesirable events and perception of safety and satisfaction with care in China.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
Chinese university hospital.


METHODS
Adult patients (N = 341) discharged from medical and surgical departments.


METHODS
Patients were interviewed post-discharge using a survey instrument to ask whether they had experienced specific undesirable events during hospitalization. Patient perception of safety and satisfaction with care received were also probed during this interview.


METHODS
Frequency of interpersonal problems, medical complications and healthcare process problems, and perception of safety and satisfaction with care.


RESULTS
In total, 601 undesirable events were reported (rate of 1.76 per person), including 229 interpersonal problems, 132 medical complications and 240 healthcare process problems. The most frequent event was insufficient explanation of medication side effects (22.9%). Both the perception of safety and satisfaction with care were related to the experience of undesirable events negatively.


CONCLUSIONS
Many respondents experienced undesirable events during hospitalization and these experiences impacted negative on patients' feelings toward the hospital. Engaging patients as partners in reporting undesirable events is a valuable tool for identifying and monitoring problematic areas of care. In order to encourage the contribution patients could make to improving patient safety, it is necessary to develop patient incident reporting systems.
School of Nursing, Changsha Medical University, 1501 Leifeng Road, Wangcheng District, Changsha, 410000, Prov. Hunan, China.
Jia
J
Yan
Sun Yat-sen University, 74 2nd Yat-Sen Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, 510080, Prov. Guangdong, China.
Ke
K
Liu
Sun Yat-sen University, 74 2nd Yat-Sen Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, 510080, Prov. Guangdong, China.
Lifeng
L
Zhang
Medical College of Jishou University, 18 Rongchang Road, Jishou, 416000, Pro. Hunan, China.
Ting
T
Chu
The third affiliated hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 600 Tianhe Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, 510000, Prov. Guangdong, China.
Xuehua
X
Wang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D061214:Patient Safety / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012308:Risk Management; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
adverse events; incident reporting and analysis; patient; patient safety; undesirable events