Motivational mechanisms influencing error reporting among nurses

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore antecedents, namely reasons for/against error reporting, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control, of nurses’ intentions to report their errors at work. Design/methodology/approach – A structured equation model with cross-sectional data were estimated to test the hypotheses on a sample of 188 Italian nurses. Findings – Reasons for/against error reporting were associated with attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control. Further, reasons against were related to nurses’ intentions to report errors whereas reasons for error reporting were not. Lastly, perceived control was found to partially mediate the effects of reasons against error reporting on nurses’ intentions to act. Research limitations/implications – Self-report data were collected at one point in time. Practical implications – This study offers recommendations to healthcare managers on what factors may encourage nurses to report their errors. Social implications – Lack of error reporting prevents timely interventions. The study contributes to documenting motivations that can persuade or dissuade nurses in this important decision. Originality/value – This study extends prior research on error reporting that lacks a strong theoretical foundation by drawing on behavioral reasoning theory.