@Article{info:doi/10.2196/50532,
author="Haque, Ghazal
and Asif, Fozia
and Ahmed, Fasih Ali
and Ayub, Farwa
and Syed, Sabih ul Hassan
and Pradhan, Nousheen Akber
and Hameed, Malika
and Siddiqui, Muhammad Muneeb Ullah
and Mahmood, Shafaq
and Zaidi, Tahani
and Siddiqi, Sameen
and Latif, Asad",
title="Assessment of Patient Safety in a Low-Resource Health Care System: Proposal for a Multimethod Study",
journal="JMIR Res Protoc",
year="2024",
month="Mar",
day="27",
volume="13",
pages="e50532",
keywords="patient safety; health systems; quality assessment; safety culture; assessment; healthcare delivery; health system; hospital; low-middle-income countries; research methodology",
abstract="Background: The high prevalence of adverse events (AEs) globally in health care delivery has led to the establishment of many guidelines to enhance patient safety. However, patient safety is a relatively nascent concept in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where health systems are already overburdened and underresourced. This is why it is imperative to study the nuances of patient safety from a local perspective to advocate for the judicious use of scarce public health resources. Objective: This study aims to assess the status of patient safety in a health care system within a low-resource setting, using a multipronged, multimethod approach of standardized methodologies adapted to the local setting. Methods: We propose purposive sampling to include a representative mix of public and private, rural and urban, and tertiary and secondary care hospitals, preferably those ascribed to the same hospital quality standards. Six different approaches will be considered at these hospitals including (1) focus group discussions on the status quo of patient safety, (2) Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, (3) Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, (4) estimation of incidence of AEs identified by patients, (5) estimation of incidence of AEs via medical record review, and (6) assessment against the World Health Organization's Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Framework via thorough reviews of existing hospital protocols and in-person surveys of the facility. Results: The abovementioned studies collectively are expected to yield significant quantifiable information on patient safety conditions in a wide range of hospitals operating within LMICs. Conclusions: A multidimensional approach is imperative to holistically assess the patient safety situation, especially in LMICs. Our low-budget, non--resource-intensive research proposal can serve as a benchmark to conduct similar studies in other health care settings within LMICs. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/50532 ",
issn="1929-0748",
doi="10.2196/50532",
url="https://www.researchprotocols.org/2024/1/e50532",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/50532",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38536223"
}