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Nurses’ Experiences in Implementing Patient Safety Programs in Inpatient Settings: A Qualitative Study

Diah Arruum orcid scopus  -  Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia
*Setyowati Setyowati orcid scopus  -  Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
Hanny Handiyani scopus  -  Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
Raldi Artono Koestoer  -  Faculty of Enginering, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
Open Access Copyright (c) 2026 by the Authors, Published by Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Diponegoro
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Background: Patient safety is the most important aspect of healthcare services in hospital settings. However, its implementation continues to face challenges in the delivery of nursing care to patients. Inadequate nursing staff, systems, and performance remain significant challenges for nurses in maintaining patient safety. Adverse patient events occur annually and can result in hospital fatalities; contributing factors include poor communication, high workloads, and inadequate resources.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate nurses’ experiences in implementing patient safety programs in hospital inpatient settings.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used, and participants were selected using a purposive sampling technique. A total of 22 ward nurses participated in this study. The inclusion criteria included nurses with at least one year of work experience, a bachelor’s degree in nursing, or professional nurse status. Data were collected through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Thematic analysis was used to systematically analyze the data.

Results: The study identified four main themes. Although nurses were aware of patient safety programs, they continued to encounter barriers, including a lack of peer awareness regarding safety standard implementation, workload constraints, and a blame culture. Furthermore, nurses experienced anxiety and demotivation when reporting errors, highlighting the need for support from nursing leadership. Finally, nurses expressed that achieving patient safety targets requires technological innovations.

Conclusion: Nurses’ commitment to work, patient safety–related workplace culture, and the availability of innovative technology remain obstacles to the implementation of patient safety programs. Communication barriers, limited managerial efforts, and challenges in sustaining patient safety persist. Therefore, recommendations for hospital leadership include strengthening systems and policies, improving resource planning, enhancing support and supervision, and providing continuous training to improve patient safety programs.

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Keywords: Anxiety; communication barriers; patient safety; technology; workload

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