Pressure for health service delivery and its implications on safety behaviour of health care practitioners

Aim: The study aim to examine whether management commitment and prioritization of safety at the hospital had any relationship with health care workers’ safety behaviour under pressure to deliver health care. Background: Sub-Saharan Africa faces a human resource crisis in the health sector, leading to a compromise of the safety practices of nurses and other care providers. Hence there is a need to probe the influence of pressure for health service delivery on safety behaviour. Methods: The sample consisted of 295 respondents consisting of nurses, medical doctors and biological scientists from two teaching hospitals (Tamale Teaching Hospital and Komfu Anokye Teaching Hospital). A quantitative research design approach was used. Simple linear regression was carried out to test the hypotheses formulated. Results: The results showed that pressure for health service delivery negatively affected health care workers’ safety behaviour whereas management commitment to safety and priority of safety at the hospital were positively related to safety behaviour. Conclusion: Priority and the commitment of management to safety can influence the safety behaviour of nurses and other caregivers who are under pressure to deliver quality health care to the great number of patients. Implication for Nursing Management: Upholding high safety standards by management can create an enabling environment that would compel nurses and other caregivers to provide apt safety behaviours which in the long run can improve the quality of safety of nurses and other care providers.