The Relationship Between Patients' Safety-Related Behaviors and Safety Events and Patient Experiences in Korean Hospitals

Background and Purpose There is increasing interest in patient participation in healthcare aimed at enhancing safety. The purposes of this study were to examine levels of patients' safety-related behaviors and to determine their relationships with safety events and care experiences. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 360 patients in two tertiary general hospitals in Korea. The final dataset consisted of 341 patient responses. A questionnaire was developed to collect information concerning patients' safety-related behaviors, care experiences, and the occurrence of safety events. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results On average, patients participated in 10.0 ( SD 5.4) safety-related behaviors. Sixty-five (19.1%) patients reported experiencing at least one adverse event related to medical management. The mean problem score for care experience was 39.4 ( SD 27.8) out of 100.0. Multiple logistic analysis showed that patients with adequate health literacy and higher activation levels were more likely to have high safety-related behavior participation levels. High participation in safety-related behaviors was negatively associated with the occurrence of safety events. However, no significant relationship was found between patient participation and the total problem scores for care experience. Implications for Practice These findings suggest that efforts to support patients with limited health literacy and low activation levels are needed to facilitate patient participation. Active participation in safety-related behaviors can contribute to improving patient safety.