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

Abstract

The aim of this study was 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 1790 nurses across the U.S. Over half of the nurses reported suboptimal physical and mental health. Approximately half of the nurses reported having medical errors in the past 5 years. Compared with 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 health care systems to optimize health in clinicians to enhance high-quality care and decrease the odds of costly preventable medical errors.