Characterization of scientific production on errors in health work

Abstract

Objective: To characterize the national and international scientific production on errors in health work from 2000 to 2020. Methods: This is an integrative literature review of national and international studies, carried out in the MEDLINE, LILACS/BIREME, PubMed and SciELO databases. A total of 4164 studies were found, 148 of which were included and submitted to thematic content analysis. The searches were carried out from January to March 2020 and April 2021. The results were systematized into three thematic categories. Results: In the category Characteristics of studies on errors, it was evidenced that the most frequent professional categories in error occurrence are nurses, physicians and pharmacists; regarding Characteristics of error in health work, the most reported types are medication, diagnosis and nursing care errors, including patient falls., phlebitis resulting from peripheral venous catheters, occurrence of pressure ulcers and extubation of drains, catheters and probes; and in Context for error occurrence, individual elements and work context were identified, highlighting the latter. Conclusion: It was evident that error in health work occurs in a context of precarious work, with work processes marked by heterogeneity. From the understanding that health workers make mistakes and that the precariousness of work enhances error occurrence, it is necessary to reorganize health systems so that the opportunities for errors to occur are reduced and that learning is promoted when they occur.