Long-term care providers are eyeing a study that connects high levels of psychological safety among staff members with the strength of a hospital’s infection prevention and control program.
The findings could help long-term care providers prepare “for the day when [healthcare-associated infections] more heavily impact long-term care facilities like they do hospitals,” according to one expert.
“HAIs, such as urinary tract infections, impact quality measures. Additionally, infection prevention and control remains the No. 1 survey citation — meaning investing in reducing HAIs not only improves resident safety; it also impacts the facility’s reputation,” Amy Stewart, vice president of curriculum development for the American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing, told McKnight’s.
In a survey of 900 hospital infection preventionists, University of Michigan researchers found that just 38% of responding hospitals had high levels of psychological safety. Psychological safety is described as the shared belief that team members will not be reprimanded, punished or embarrassed for speaking up, sharing ideas, posing questions, raising concerns or making mistakes.
Researchers were also able to identify a positive link between high psychological safety and the adoption of infection prevention practices. The survey also revealed that 80% of hospitals were involved in collaborative efforts to reduce HAIs but only 53% of hospitals reported receiving strong support for infection control programs from hospital leadership.
“In long-term care, we are required to have an infection prevention and control program, and an infection preventionist. The individuals in these roles need to have facility leadership support. Oftentimes the infection preventionists are busy tracking infections without investing time in developing ways to reduce them,” Stewart said.
“It would benefit facility leaders to have their infection preventionist be allotted enough time to not only track infections but also to develop ways to reduce them,” she added.
Stewart noted that the survey questions for staff members on the elements of psychological safety could be used by long-term care infection preventionists to self-assess their own facilities.
“If staff perceive the facility as being not psychologically safe, then facility or organizational leaders must intervene and investigate the root cause as to why staff feel they cannot report unsafe conditions without repercussions,” Stewart said.
The full findings were published online in the American Journal of Infection Control.
