Human factors remain a key contributor to patient harm. However, healthcare organizations struggle to learn from mistakes, hindering the reduction of medical errors. Psychological safety (PS)...Show moreHuman factors remain a key contributor to patient harm. However, healthcare organizations struggle to learn from mistakes, hindering the reduction of medical errors. Psychological safety (PS) enhances team functioning and reduce medical errors by stimulating open communication and giving and receiving feedback while a punitive working culture can lower PS, leading to decreased team performance and increased patient harm. Similar to a punitive working culture, when group norms (GN) are present, non-normative behavior can lead to rejection, causing physical and emotional distress that could undermine PS. This study therefore explores the impact of GN on PS. This study examined the impact of GN on PS using qualitative and quantitative methods. Different outcomes were observed when analyzing the impact of GN on PS, depending on whether a homogeneous or heterogeneous dataset was used. The homogeneous dataset showed no relationship between PS and GN, while the heterogeneous dataset indicated a significant positive correlation. The study had some limitations, including a small sample size and the use of self-constructed surveys to assess GN. Despite the non-significant results in the homogeneous dataset, the role of GN in evaluating PS should not be disregarded. Future research should focus on exploring the influence of GN on PS and address methodological challenges associated with studying implicit behavioral rules. In conclusion, understanding the impact of GN on PS is crucial for improving patient safety in healthcare settings. By addressing the limitations of this study and conducting further research, healthcare organizations can develop interventions to enhance PS, reduce medical errors, and create a culture of safety.Show less
E-commerce is constantly changing since the innovation of mobile devices. In this study, purchase behavior will be analyzed more in-depth between desktop and smartphone. Having a better...Show moreE-commerce is constantly changing since the innovation of mobile devices. In this study, purchase behavior will be analyzed more in-depth between desktop and smartphone. Having a better understanding of the human-computer interaction is an interest within MetrixLab for the innovation of their DFST research. Aiming to answer the following research question: !Do we see differences in e-commerce data when a study has been completed on desktop or smartphone?” E-commerce data is made up of the following variables: time in store, stopping power, and purchase preference. We expected a difference in time in store and stopping power (click-through rate), with participants shopping on desktop having a lower quantity compared to participants in the smartphone condition. We expect no difference between purchase preference of the two devices. A total of 251 participants were included in this study, 164 placed in the desktop condition and 87 in the mobile condition. This study was divided in three sections: (1) pre-questionnaire, (2) an online shopping assignment, and (3) a post-questionnaire. It was found that using desktop, participants spent significantly longer in store (p < .05) and stopping power (p < .01) was higher compared to using a smartphone. Purchase preference (p <.05) showed a significant difference between the two devices. There is a significant difference between devices which should be researched further to draw conclusions. Limitations of this study was the chosen population and analyzed variables. Future study could include a broader range of participants and products, featuring a wider range of variables, including eye-tracking movement.Show less
The present study investigated operating room (OR) traffic at the OR’s of two Dutch hospitals. OR traffic is one of the multiple causes of surgical site infections (SSIs). Hospitals are trying to...Show moreThe present study investigated operating room (OR) traffic at the OR’s of two Dutch hospitals. OR traffic is one of the multiple causes of surgical site infections (SSIs). Hospitals are trying to reduce their amount of OR traffic as much as possible in order to reduce the number of SSIs. Knowing how much variation of the amount of OR traffic occurs and knowing the reasons for its occurrence, is important to actually be able to reduce OR traffic to an tolerable level. For this study, OR traffic was investigated by observing OR traffic during surgeries (N = 83). On average, 4.29 door openings per hour occurred. Between the hospitals, the averages of OR traffic per hour differed greatly (hospital 1 M = 3.00, hospital 2 M = 5.23). Overall, there was a positive linear relation between the amount of OR traffic and the duration of a surgery. Two-way traffic was related to less overall OR traffic. Visible signs about the OR traffic policy did not seem effective in reducing OR traffic. Based on the results of this study, practical recommendations to improve OR traffic policy were proposed. Also, we advised on improving OR traffic registration and efficient behavior of OR personnel to reduce OR traffic.Show less
In hospitals, preventable incidents still occur and safety management may have reached its peak. Therefore, learning from these incidents is imperative to reduce preventable harm. A prerequisite...Show moreIn hospitals, preventable incidents still occur and safety management may have reached its peak. Therefore, learning from these incidents is imperative to reduce preventable harm. A prerequisite for learning is the willingness of staff to report. A safety management mode known as Safety-II may yield benefits in reporting behavior. Based on existing literature, reporting behavior may be influenced by personality. This study aimed to investigate if the proposed safety management mode will increase reporting behavior. Additionally, this study investigated if personality is a significant predictor in reporting behavior. To test this, participants consisting of two groups i.e., calamity investigators (with training in Safety-II) and random medical staff (without training) were compared. Data was gathered by distributing questionnaires among participants; one for personality and one for reporting behavior. The reporting questionnaire was distributed on a second occasion, to measure implications over time. It was expected that training in Safety-II leads to an increase in reporting behavior. Additionally, it was expected that personality influenced reporting behavior. Results showed a significant difference in one facet of reporting behavior (i.e., perceived blame) between groups with training in Safety-II and without training. Extraversion and neuroticism were found to be predictors for one facet of reporting behavior (i.e., perceived criteria for events that should be reported). Implications may be that the training main focus is to exempt blame from being a factor in reporting. Implications may also be that personality is not a great predictor of reporting behavior. Future lines of research may focus on increasing the number of participating hospitals, perhaps even broadening the study across different nations, to examine cultural differences.Show less
When it comes to teamwork, it is vital to communicate well with one another, especially when the lives of patients are in your team’s hands. In order to communicate well, hospital workers must feel...Show moreWhen it comes to teamwork, it is vital to communicate well with one another, especially when the lives of patients are in your team’s hands. In order to communicate well, hospital workers must feel psychologically safe enough within their team to address questions, problems, and errors, and must feel free to make suggestions and give feedback. This study investigates, by the means of a survey on psychological safety and network ties, whether social network ties within and between teams can predict the psychological safety of hospital workers, as they work with colleagues outside of their team as well. Asking for advice from (different) team members and being friends with team members was hypothesised to indicate that the team psychological safety is adequate. Having difficulties with team members was expected to lower the perception of psychological safety. Over the course of three weeks, 70 hospital workers answered the survey via Mechanical Turk and the results from the linear regressions suggest that advice ties positively affect and difficulty ties negatively affect team psychological safety, but only when psychological safety scores were at the lower end of the scale. Team tenure did not moderate the effect that network ties have on psychological safety while larger team sizes may weaken this effect. Future tools for improving psychological safety in hospital teams can make use of the knowledge that advice ties and difficulty ties are possible ingredients of a low psychological safety team moving to a desired level of psychological safety.Show less
In the dynamic world of healthcare, where people work together in multidisciplinary teams, psychological safety is necessary for effective teamwork. Psychological safety leads to more team learning...Show moreIn the dynamic world of healthcare, where people work together in multidisciplinary teams, psychological safety is necessary for effective teamwork. Psychological safety leads to more team learning, self-expression and personal engagement that in turn increases team effectivity. With those beneficial effects in mind, an important part (the first subquestion) of this study focused on the level of psychological safety of various actors at the department of Neurology/Neurosurgery/Neurocare in a large university hospital. Furthermore, this first subquestion served a larger goal. The hospital is about to implement changes in rules and regulations concerning the work activities of healthcare workers, in order to increase patient safety. According to the results of this study, the level of psychological safety was on an adequate level. The second subquestion addressed the prevalent communication styles among colleagues on the work floor of the abovementioned departments. The results suggested that healthcare workers use significantly more directive (dominant and contentious) communication styles compared to non-directive (attentive and friendly) communication styles. No difference was found between the communication styles of nurses and doctors. Since the way of communication may influence psychological safety, the third subquestion focused on the relationship of communication styles and psychological safety. No association was found between those two concepts. However, we found some indications in our very small sample size that nurses with non-directive communication styles may be vulnerable to experiencing a lower level of psychological safety. Because of Covid-19 regulations, the sample size was limited, so the findings are not generalisable. However, this study does serve as a proof-of-concept of a study that can be conducted in the future. In a subsequent similar study, the same method with some modifications can be used to get more generalisable findings and insights into the relationship between communication styles and psychological safety.Show less
In times of rapid change, like what the world is currently going through, certain organizational circumstances might facilitate adapting to novel situations, especially in complex organizations...Show moreIn times of rapid change, like what the world is currently going through, certain organizational circumstances might facilitate adapting to novel situations, especially in complex organizations like health care. Health care workers having an innovative mindset might be one of these circumstances. Further, this mindset and health care workers’ innovative work behaviours (IWB) might be facilitated by the existence of psychological safety within their work teams. However, to understand the relationship between psychological safety and IWB and to be able to induce it, it is crucial to understand what dynamics underlie this relationship. In this study, the relationship between psychological safety and IWB, and whether this relationship was mediated by tacit and/or explicit knowledge sharing, were investigated. The sample consisted of 182 health care workers (120 females, 62 males, Mage = 36.25) and they were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform. Participants filled out an online questionnaire consisting of 36 questions about psychological safety, tacit and explicit knowledge sharing, and IWB within their work teams. Results indicated that while explicit knowledge sharing had an indirect effect on the relationship between psychological safety and innovative work behaviours, indicating mediation, tacit knowledge sharing did not have a significant indirect effect. The cognitive effort involved in sharing knowledge is discussed as a potential reason why a mediating effect was not observed for tacit knowledge sharing. Recommendations for further research and the limitations of the current study are discussed.Show less
Working in teams has become common in many organisations. In studies about the performance of teams, psychological safety has become an popular topic. Psychological safety describes an atmosphere...Show moreWorking in teams has become common in many organisations. In studies about the performance of teams, psychological safety has become an popular topic. Psychological safety describes an atmosphere were employees feel comfortable speaking up about their concerns and new ideas. As the performance of an organisation is often dependent on innovation and innovative behaviour, we propose that psychological safety can positively predict innovative behaviour. Additionally, diversity was studied, specifically the characteristics age, gender, and work experience, and their individual influences on innovative behaviour and psychological safety. Previous research has shown mixed results about the performance of diverse teams, therefore it is necessary to extent research in this field. Data was collected using an online survey with questions regarding innovative behaviour and perceived psychological safety by employees from a Dutch organisation (N = 375). First, we used a simple linear regression to map the relationship between innovative behaviour and psychological safety. Second, we performed a simple linear regression to find the individual influences of age, gender, and work experience on respectively innovative behaviour and psychological safety. Additional analyses were performed to extend insight into the relations and internal structures of these constructs. Results showed that psychological safety is a positive predictor of innovative behaviour and that work experience can predict innovative behaviour in certain circumstances. We conclude that psychological safety can predict innovative behaviour and that diverse characteristics are unlikely to influence both constructs separately. However, further research is necessary to explain the role of diversity in this relationship, as this study has not been able to measure diversity as a team characteristic. Further suggestions and limitations are discussed.Show less
