Work Environment and Process in Intensive Care: Safety Risks for Professionals and Patients
Abstract
Introduction: Risk situations are considered as being caused by the nature of the jobs and as the result of
actions or external factors that increase the probability of changes in the workers’ health.
Objective: To explore how healthcare professionals in an intensive care unit (ICU) experience safety issues and
other safety concerns within their work environment.
Methods: The restorative approach in healthcare was used and involved joint identification of the problem and
use of a set of visual methods: focus group; photo narration; and photo elicitation.
Results: A key finding was that the work conditions and processes pose threats to patients and professionals’
safety. Participants discussed risks existing in their work environment and identified solutions to promote a
safer workplace for medication management and for themselves.
Conclusions: The visual methods helped participants to develop in-depth discussions on the risk factors detected
and engaged them in the proposition of solutions to the problems identified in this complex environment.
