Factors Influencing Psychological Safety Among Japanese Home Care Nurses

Abstract

Aim:

This study aimed to identify factors related to the psychological safety of Japanese home care nurses (HCNs).

Methods:

This cross-sectional study recruited Japanese HCNs. The HCNs completed a questionnaire based on the Japanese version of the Psychological Safety Scale at their home care nursing agency (HCN agency) from May to July 2022; the responses were analyzed to determine the characteristics of the HCNs and HCN agencies. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors associated with HCNs’ psychological safety.

Results:

This study included 145 HCNs from 73 HCN agencies. The mean age of the HCNs was 43.46 years, and the mean score on the Japanese version of the psychological safety scale was 27.19. Psychological safety was significantly associated with HCNs’ perceptions of follow-up systems for adverse events (β = .355, p < .001), perceptions of management’s attitude toward problem-solving (β = .309, p < .001), and management’s efforts to create a consultative environment (β = .183, p = .009). Furthermore, psychological safety was negatively correlated with agency-level factors, including the average number of visits per month by HCNs (β = −.184, p = .012) and the use of social networking services (SNS) for business communication in daily work (β = −.173, p = .018).

Conclusions:

Supportive management practices are crucial to shaping the psychological safety of Japanese HCNs, whereas heavy workloads and frequent SNS use for communication may hinder it; thus, organizational improvements and workload adjustments are necessary.