A National Study Links Nurses’ Physical and Mental Health to Medical Errors and Perceived Worksite Wellness

Abstract

To describe: (1) nurses’ physical and mental health; (2) the relationship between health and medical errors; and (3) the association between nurses’ perceptions of wellness support and their health. A cross sectional descriptive survey was conducted with 1,790 nurses across the U.S. Over half of the nurses reported sub-optimal physical and mental health. Approximately half of the nurses reported having medical errors in the past 5 years. Compared to nurses with better health, those with worse health were associated with 26% to 71% higher likelihood of having medical errors. There also was a significant relationship between greater perceived worksite wellness and better health. Wellness must be a high priority for healthcare systems to optimize health in clinicians to enhance high quality care and decrease the odds of costly preventable medical errors.