Influence of Nursing Explanation Skills on Incident Occurrence: Questionnaire survey research using a psychological paradigm

OBJECTIVES In routine nursing tasks, providing accurate explanations is vital for the quality of healthcare and patient safety, but empirical data on this are scarce. This study aimed to create a psychological scale and investigate how nursing explanation skills affect healthcare incidents. DESIGN The study involved psychological scale development and questionnaire surveys based on psychological paradigms. SETTING Data were collected through two web-based surveys and a field survey at a comprehensive hospital in Japan. PARTICIPANTS The preliminary investigation involved 109 experienced nurses. Study 1 involved 1,000 nursing professionals, and Study 2 involved 159 nursing staff working in a comprehensive hospital. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The study assessed scale scores for nursing explanation skills, communication skills, miscommunication, and patient outcomes. RESULTS Nine sub-skills were identified, categorized under "compassion" and "mental model sharing." Seven sub-skills were shared, while two were specific to interactions with patients/families or healthcare professionals. Clinical ladder progression is related to compassion and mental model sharing, whereas practical experience years only relate to mental model sharing. Compassion increased the probability of various incidents due to interactional failures, while mental model sharing enhanced the probability of severe incidents from judgmental failures and minor incidents from conceptual failures. CONCLUSION This study developed a psychological scale to measure nursing professionals' explanation skills in communication with patients, their families, and other medical staff. It elucidated their impact on incident occurrence through miscommunication. The findings need to be practically verified through fieldwork in nursing education.