Systematic review of types of safety incidents and the processes and systems used for safety incident reporting in care homes

Abstract

Aims: To identify the safety incident reporting systems and processes used within care homes to capture staff reports of safety incidents, and the types and characteristics of safety incidents captured by safety incident reporting systems.

Design: Systematic review following PRISMA reporting guidelines.

Methods: Databases were searched January 2023 for studies published after year 2000, written in English, focus on care homes and incident reporting systems. Data were extracted using a bespoke data extraction tool, and quality was assessed. Data were analysed descriptively and using narrative synthesis, with types and characteristics of incidents analysed using the International Classification for Patient Safety.

Data sources: Databases were CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, HMIC, ASSISA, Nursing and Allied Health Database, MedNar and OpenGrey.

Results: We identified 8150 papers with 106 studies eligible for inclusion, all conducted in high-income countries. Numerous incident reporting processes and systems were identified. Using modalities, typical incident reporting systems captured all types of incidents via electronic computerized reporting, with reports made by nursing staff and captured information about patient demographics, the incident and post-incident actions, whilst some reporting systems included medication- and falls-specific information. Reports were most often used to summarize data and identify trends. Incidents categories most often were patient behaviour, clinical process/procedure, documentation, medication/intravenous fluids and falls. Various contributing and mitigating factors and actions to reduce risk were identified. The most reported action to reduce risk was to improve safety culture. Individual outcomes were often reported, but social/economic impact of incidents and organizational outcomes were rarely reported.

Conclusions: This review has demonstrated a complex picture of incident reporting in care homes with evidence limited to high-income countries, highlighting a significant knowledge gap. The findings emphasize the central role of nursing staff in reporting safety incidents and the lack of standardized reporting systems and processes.

Implications for the profession and/or patient care: The findings from this study can inform the development or adaptation of safety incident reporting systems in care home settings, which is of relevance for nurses, care home managers, commissioners and regulators. This can help to improve patient care by identifying common safety issues across various types of care home and inform learning responses, which require further research.

Impact: This study addresses a gap in the literature on the systems and processes used to report safety incidents in care homes across many countries, and provides a comprehensive overview of safety issues identified via incident reporting.

Reporting method: PRISMA.

Patient or public contribution: A member of the research team is a patient and public representative, involved from study conception.

Keywords: literature review; long‐term care; patient safety; quality of care.

FIGURE 1

PRISMA flowchart.

FIGURE 2

World map showing countries with studies included in the review.

FIGURE 3

Summary of incident report data captured by incident reporting systems in care homes.