Emotional safety should be assessed as a core component of patient safety, researchers at New York City-based NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing wrote in a Dec. 29 article published in Advances in Nursing Science.
While current literature explores emotional harm in healthcare, the industry has lacked a clear definition of emotional safety.
“Despite the need to incorporate patients’ emotional safety into care delivery to reduce emotional harm, the literature is limited regarding the definition and dimensions of the concept of ’emotional safety’ or how patient safety includes patients’ perceptions and feelings of safety during their healthcare experiences,” the researchers wrote.
They analyzed 56 U.S. studies addressing emotional safety and harm and proposed a preliminary framework defining patient emotional safety across four core dimensions:
- Autonomy — Giving patients a voice and control over their own health decisions through respect, informed consent and transparent communication.
- Human connectedness — Using person-first language, taking a holistic view of patients lives, leaving adequate time for communication and taking accountability after harm.
- Practice of structural humility — Addressing cultural humility, affirming patients’ lived experiences, demonstrating equitable power-sharing and dismantling discriminatory systems.
- Secure environment — Ensuring patients feel safe and secure within the healthcare setting by maintaining privacy, minimizing emotional and physical stressors and fostering a culture of respect and coordinated care.
The researchers noted that emotional harm can occur even in the absence of physical harm and can erode trust, delay care-seeking and worsen outcomes. They conclude that health systems must embed emotional safety into patient safety work and organizational accountability to meaningfully improve care and equity.
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