The State and Future of Healthcare Incident Reporting Systems in African Healthcare Organizations

Abstract

Incident reporting systems are very important for better care and more patient safety, but they have a lot of problems. These aspects of organisational culture can result in underreporting, insufficient feedback for reporters, and protracted data analysis. Reporting systems that work well allow healthcare organisations to detect systemic hazards, conduct investigations of adverse events, and take preventive action. Although the increasing use of electronic methods of reporting, barriers remain, and strong leadership and commitment to digital transformation are required. Improvement will require a holistic, systems perspective that addresses underreporting of events and turns raw data into useful information. Developing user-friendly systems that facilitate interaction with healthcare workers without adding to their burden is crucial. Attitude change from blame to organisational learning should be facilitated, alongside two-way information flow and multidisciplinary teamwork. Participation of leaders in the development of reporting systems with a “human-centred” perspective is a crucial enabler of sustainable improvements in patient safety. This review specifically synthesizes evidence on incident reporting systems in African healthcare organizations, situating it within relevant global comparators (e.g., Austria, Spain, Norway, Estonia) and identifying where African-context evidence is thin.