Can patient involvement improve patient safety? A cluster randomised control trial of the Patient Reporting and Action for a Safe Environment (PRASE) intervention.

Lawton R, O'Hara JK, Sheard L, et al. BMJ Qual Saf. 2017 Feb 3; [Epub ahead of print].

Although patient engagement is widely recommended as a patient safety strategy, its impact on patient outcomes is unclear. In this cluster randomized trial, hospital wards were designated either to receive usual hospital care or to engage patients in safety by providing a questionnaire and an opportunity to report their positive and negative safety experiences. Investigators compared a global measure of safety, which included pressure ulcers, venous thromboembolism, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and falls, between wards that engaged patients through this intervention with those that did not. While the participating hospital wards were able to collect safety feedback from patients in a feasible and acceptable manner, researchers found no statistically significant differences in safety outcomes in the patient engagement wards and the usual care wards. The authors conclude that evidence is insufficient to recommend this questionnaire-based patient engagement strategy as a way to enhance safety.

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