Determine the Relationship between System Engineering Initiatives for Patient Safety Models Elements with Occupational Fatigue among Nurses

Occupational fatigue is one of the harmful factors in many work environments, including health centers, which can have adverse effects on the health and safety of staff. This study was designed and conducted to determine the relationship between occupational fatigue and elements of the systems engineering model for patient safety in nurses.

This descriptive correlational study was conducted with the participation of 457 nurses of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Dimensions of fatigue were assessed by a Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) and Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model’s elements using the SEIPS model’s questionnaire. Validity was examined using the Lawshe method; calculating Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI) was approved through the confirmation of experts. Reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach’s alpha. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 21

The findings of this study indicated that the highest score of fatigue was related to the general fatigue dimension with an average of 12.86 and SD of 3.23, and the lowest score was related to the reduction of the motivation dimension with an average of 9.11 and SD of 3.66. In this study, no significant relationship was observed between demographic characteristics and fatigue dimensions, but a significant relationship was observed between the dimensions of fatigue with the element of organization, task, technology/tools, and physical environment.

The results of this study showed that fatigue in nurses was moderate, and the factors of the work system play a greater role in the occurrence of fatigue than demographic factors. Therefore, planning to improve the work system can help reduce fatigue in nurses.