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Bakhshi R, Nadi A. Investigating factors threatening the safety of hospitalized children: A systematic review. JRHMS 2024; 3 (3) :58-67
URL: http://jrhms.thums.ac.ir/article-1-128-en.html

Patient safety is a fundamental aspect of healthcare quality, defined as the prevention of harm or injury to patients during the provision of care. Ensuring and enhancing the safety of hospitalized children, as a vulnerable population, is particularly critical. Healthcare managers face significant challenges in identifying risks that may arise during treatment processes and potentially lead to irreversible consequences. This systematic review aimed to identify the factors that threaten the safety of children in hospital settings. A comprehensive search was conducted across Persian and English databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, SID, Magiran, and IranMedex, covering publications from 2015 to 2023. Keywords included patient safety, children’s safety, safety threats, and pediatric wards. The findings indicate that major threats to child safety occur throughout different stages of care and include medication errors (wrong drug or dose), hospital-acquired infections, falls, pressure injuries, misidentification of patients, transfusion errors, organizational culture, parental experience, and healthcare staff knowledge, awareness, and attitudes toward errors. These threats can be categorized into factors related to tasks, communication, team dynamics, education and training, equipment and resources, organizational strategies, work environment, and individual characteristics of staff and patients. Preventive measures, such as adherence to correct medication protocols, hand hygiene compliance, safe patient transfer guidelines, fall prevention strategies, patient identification before procedures, proper therapeutic communication, and staff sensitization, are essential for mitigating these risks. Identifying and addressing these factors at each stage of care is crucial for enhancing child safety and minimizing adverse events in hospitals.