The scholarly monograph summarizes current theoretical and practical knowledge about the safety of healthcare and nursing care, patient safety, and nurse safety. The complexity of the topic includes environmental safety, safety and fairness culture, safety management systems, and adverse event management. Patient safety is a key element of providing high-quality healthcare and nursing care. Patient safety cannot be ensured without access to safe infrastructure, technologies, medical aids, and their safe use by patients who must be informed by a qualified and engaged healthcare professional in a safe environment. Given the current relevance of the safety issue in healthcare, which is currently a major global problem, the monograph also provides an overview of international activities, strategies, and programs. For 2025, international goals in patient safety were established, representing a significant milestone in the ongoing effort to achieve excellence in healthcare at the global level.

PREFACE

Safety in nursing care includes the safety of both patients and nurses. Patient safety is a fundamental aspect of quality care, affecting patient well-being and reducing the likelihood of errors and adverse events. Nurses occupy key positions and functions in ensuring patient safety, because their interaction with patients is the greatest compared with other healthcare professions. Nurses' proactive approach to improving patient safety, as well as their own safety, is a fundamental attribute in a safety management system. The safety of patients and healthcare workers is not only the goal of a systematic approach to safety management; it is a necessity, an unflagging commitment to protect and preserve lives.

The monograph provides an overview of current international strategies and programs focused on the safety of healthcare and nursing care, new findings and results of foreign studies in the field of safety. It is structured into nine chapters covering a broad range of topics on diverse aspects of safety for patients, nurses, and healthcare systems. It presents knowledge on technological innovations that are an effective preventive tool and improve the safety of healthcare and nursing care. Its focus makes the monograph an integrated approach to safety, combining theoretical foundations with the results of empirical studies by the author and foreign authors. The monograph was created from the need to contribute theoretical premises and results of empirical safety experiences to complement the literature resources in this topic within Slovak nursing.

Reviewers: prof. PhDr. Lucia Dimunová, PhD. doc. PhDr. Jana Boroňová, PhD. doc. PhDr. Andrea Sollárová, PhD.

CONTENT

1 SAFETY OF NURSING CARE 1.1 SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN HEALTHCARE 1.2 SAFE PATIENT IDENTIFICATION 1.3 ADVERSE EVENTS IN PROVIDING HEALTH AND NURSING CARE 1.3.1 Adverse Event Management – An Illustrative Example from a Selected Healthcare Facility 1.3.2 Adverse Event Reporting Systems

2 GLOBAL FRAMEWORKS FOR HEALTHCARE AND NURSING CARE SAFETY

3 CULTURE OF SAFETY AND FAIRNESS 3.1 SAFETY CULTURE ASSESSMENT

4 PATIENT INVOLVEMENT IN SAFETY STRATEGIES

5 SAFE COMMUNICATION IN INSTITUTIONAL HEALTHCARE SETTINGS

6 PATIENT SAFETY ASSESSMENT IN THE AREA OF COMPLIANCE WITH PATIENT RIGHTS IN INSTITUTIONAL HEALTHCARE FACILITIES

7 PATIENT SAFETY IN MEDICATION USE AND STORAGE

8 SAFETY OF NURSES AND PATIENTS IN HOME NURSING CARE 8.1 SAFETY OF NURSES WORKING IN HOME NURSING CARE

9 THE CONTRIBUTION OF PEER-REVIEW ASSESSMENT IN NURSING TO IMPROVING PATIENT SAFETY AND PREVENTING ADVERSE EVENTS

Title: Safety of Healthcare and Nursing Care Author: doc. PhDr. Viera Hulková, PhD., MPH prof. PhDr. Mária Kilíková, PhD., MPH Publisher: Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety, n.o., Bratislava Year of publication: 2025 Print run: 110 copies Edition: first Number of pages: 159 ISBN 978-80-8132-314-0 (print) ISBN 978-80-8132-315-7 (pdf)