Do healthcare professionals work around safety standards, and should we be worried? A scoping review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Healthcare staff adapt to challenges faced when delivering healthcare by using workarounds. Sometimes, safety standards, the very things used to routinely mitigate risk in healthcare, are the obstacles that staff work around. While workarounds have negative connotations, there is an argument that, in some circumstances, they contribute to the delivery of safe care.

Objectives

In this scoping review, we explore the circumstances and perceived implications of safety standard workarounds (SSWAs) conducted in the delivery of frontline care.

Method

We searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Web of Science for articles reporting on the circumstances and perceived implications of SSWAs in healthcare. Data charting was undertaken by two researchers. A narrative synt

SUBMITTER: Clark D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12013549 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature