Patient safety practices and medical errors: Perception of health care providers at Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia

Background: Even though evidences are limited in developing countries, the probability of patients being harmed in hospitals when receiving care might be much greater than that of the industrialized nations. Thus, aim of this study was to assess patient safety practice and the perceived prevalence of medical errors at Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia. Methods: A facility based cross-sectional study was conducted during June, July and August 2010 in Jimma University Specialized Hospital. Patient safety grade and the perceived prevalence of medical errors were computed descriptively. Then, the effect of various independent variables on patient safety grade was assessed using multiple linear regressions analysis. Result: The overall patient safety grade as rated by the participants was excellent (7.2%), very good (20.7%), acceptable (36.0%), poor (30.0%) and failing (6.4%). Complications related to anesthesia occurred sometimes, rarely and never according to 30.8%, 43% and 15.8% of the respondents, respectively. Death in low mortality patients was reported to occur most of the time by 10.4% of the respondents. In addition, failure to rescue, infection due to medical care, postoperative hemorrhage, postoperative sepsis, birth injury to the neonate, obstetric trauma to the mother were reported to happened. Supervisor expectation and actions promoting patient safety (p < 0.001), and communication openness and feedback about errors (p = 0.002) had positive correlation with patient safety grade. Conclusion: this study indicated that poor patient safety practice and potentially preventable medical errors in the hospital.