Pathways to Safer Healthcare: Interplay between Patient Participation and Patient Characteristics

Esther Van Poel, Vincent De Prez, Sara Willems

Keywords: Patient Safety; General Practice; Quality of Healthcare; Patient Participation; Patient involvement; Primary Care

Introduction:

Despite its potential to improve patient safety, a research gap exists in understanding patient participation within general practice. This study investigates patients' perceptions and their relationship with individual characteristics.

Method:

Using a randomized sampling procedure, data from 437 residents in two Flemish regions (Belgium) were collected between February and April 2023 through the self-reported PAPC-PT survey. Descriptive and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess determinants of patient participation in patient safety. Patient characteristics include age, gender, migration background, and socioeconomic status.

Results:

The majority of the participants (81.6%) felt confident in contributing to patient safety, with 92.2% expressing willingness to engage. Most (66.4%) believed ensuring patient safety is a patient's responsibility, and 88.5% indicated readiness to report incidents to their general practitioner (GP). When incident reporting, 36.3% worried about potentially irritating their GP, and 6.9% expressed concerns about future healthcare quality. Patient participation could be encouraged through GP support (80.4%) or the presence of a family member or friend (35.6%).
Women reported significantly more positive perceptions about their willingness to contribute to safe healthcare (OR=2.9) and patient responsibility (OR=2.3) compared to men. Women also believed less frequently that incident reporting would annoy their GP (OR=0.64). In contrast to adults aged 26-65, young adults below 26 were significantly more likely to anticipate annoyance from their GP (OR=2.4). Compared to adults and those over 65, young adults were more inclined by GP encouragement (OR=3.3 and 2.9) or the presence of family members or friends (OR=3.0 and 3.3). Participants with a migration background were more motivated for patient participation when with family or friends (OR=4.3). Socioeconomic status did not affect the determinants of patient participation.

Conclusions:

Overall, participants were positive about their role. GPs play a key role in promoting patient participation in patient safety. Considering patient characteristics is crucial for future intervention design.

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