Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Frank Andrasik

Committee Member

Xu Jiang

Committee Member

Jason Braasch

Committee Member

James Hoffman

Abstract

This experimental study will assess the behavioral and psychosocial effects of just culture error management strategies for medical errors in a healthcare setting, and the outcomes of such strategies on work-related perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. A total of 247 nurses-in-training were randomly assigned to one of 6 experimental conditions. In each condition, participants read a vignette that described an at-risk medical error and the error management strategy employed by a hypothetical organization. The medical error was written to implicate both the individual involved, and the larger organizational system. Vignettes differed with regard to error management strategy employed by the organization (punitive, blameless, just culture) and the degree of event severity (no harm, harm). Participants rated the organizational justice and trustworthiness of the hypothetical organization described in the vignette; then, reported their own willingness to engage in safety compliance and error reporting behaviors and their degree of organizational commitment and attraction. Results suggest that error management strategies based in just culture were associated with increase perceptions of organizational justice and trustworthiness, increased intention to engage in safety compliance, and stronger attraction and commitment to the organization. Furthermore, perceptions about the organizational justice and organizational trust mediated the relationship between error management strategy and these outcomes. Event severity did not moderate the association between error management and organizational perceptions. Furthermore, error management strategy was unrelated to error reporting intention. Control variables of familiarity with concepts of just culture, experience with medical errors (as provider or patient), and demographic variables of gender and age were not associated with organizational commitment, organizational attraction, or safety compliance. However, error reporting intention was positively associated with familiarity with concepts of just culture was positively and negatively associated with experience with medical errors as a provider.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

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