Challenges of maintaining patient safety among Iranian nurses: A qualitative study

Patient safety is one of the most critical factors influencing the quality of nursing care, but some challenges cause failure to maintain patient safety. This study was conducted to identify the challenges that clinical nurses face in maintaining patient safety. This qualitative study was completed in 2021-2022 on clinical nurses of public and private hospitals in selected cities of Iran. Purposive sampling was used to select participants and data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviews were analyzed using Lindgren, Graneheim and Lundman content analysis method. Three categories of "organizational challenges," “work-related and individual challenges,” and “challenges raised by patients or companions” emerged from the data as factors leading to failure in maintaining patient safety. Nurses, nursing managers at the organizational level, and nursing policymakers at the national level should be aware of their role in patient safety violations and then manage these challenges by formulating appropriate programs, policies, and interventions.