Skip to main content
. 2012 Mar 15;21(5):369–380. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2011-000443

Table 2.

Frequency of identification for contributory factor domain by method

Domain Incident reporting (n=30) Interviews and focus groups (n=10) Observational (n=14) Other (n=29)
Count % Count % Count % Count %
Active failures 149 22.6 22 9.8 24 12.6 110 18.2
Communication systems 38 5.8 12 5.4 16 8.4 66 10.9
Design of equipment and supplies 28 4.3 9 4.0 0.0 14 2.3
Equipment and supplies 55 8.4 4 1.8 20 10.5 31 5.1
External policy context 4 0.6 0.0 1 0.5 4 0.7
Individual factors 68 10.3 54 24.1 12 6.3 50 8.3
Lines of responsibility 2 0.3 4 1.8 0.0 9 1.5
Management of staff and staffing levels 37 5.6 15 6.7 7 3.7 38 6.3
Patient factors 39 5.9 6 2.7 6 3.2 26 4.3
Physical environment 29 4.4 7 3.1 6 3.2 19 3.1
Policy and procedures 16 2.4 5 2.2 4 2.1 26 4.3
Safety culture 9 1.4 5 2.2 0.0 12 2.0
Scheduling and bed management 2 0.3 1 0.4 3 1.6 12 2.0
Staff workload 10 1.5 17 7.6 4 2.1 14 2.3
Supervision and leadership 10 1.5 8 3.6 2 1.1 20 3.3
Support from central functions 23 3.5 0.0 9 4.7 22 3.6
Task characteristics 6 0.9 6 2.7 2 1.1 6 1.0
Team factors 13 2.0 9 4.0 11 5.8 20 3.3
Training and education 17 2.6 2 0.9 5 2.6 15 2.5
Outcome* 9 1.4 1 0.4 25 13.2 22 3.6
Can't code 94 14.3 37 16.5 33 17.4 68 11.3
Grand total 658 100.0 224 100.0 190 100.0 604 100.0
*

Defined as the outcome of a specific action or a behaviour that impacts on the patient. Outcome was not deemed to be a contributory factor because it simply refers to what happens subsequently to the active failure, that is, the outcome for the patient.