Assessment of nurses' perceptions of patient safety culture in a Saudi Arabia hospital

Exploring the perception of safety culture among nurses in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

Medical errors and adverse events pose a serious challenge to the global healthcare industry. Nurses are at the frontline in implementing safety measures and protecting patients. This study aimed to investigate nurses' perceptions of the patient safety culture in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

This cross-sectional descriptive study used convenience sampling to survey 402 nurses from various hospitals in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture was used for the data collection.

RESULTS

Nurses reported a moderate perception of safety culture, with 60% positive responses. Teamwork had the highest safety culture rating at 77.8%, while responses to error and staffing were the lowest at 39.75% and 46.17%, respectively. Qualifications significantly predicts nurses' safety culture rating (B = -0442, t = -4.279, p < 0.01). Positive correlations were found between event reporting frequency and communication openness (r = 0.142, p < 0.01), and patient safety grades with communication about errors (r = 0.424, p < 0.01) and hospital management support (r = 0.231, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Nurses in Saudi Arabia demonstrated a strong sense of teamwork and commitment to organizational learning. However, critical areas such as staffing and error response require attention to improve patient safety.

Status of Patient Safety Culture in Community Pharmacy Settings: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVES

This systematic aimed to understand the global status using the results of survey studies based on the Community Pharmacy Survey on Patient Safety Culture and set the directions of development in terms of the patient safety culture of community pharmacies.

METHODS

Electronic searches were performed in EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, and CINAHL databases by using the words "patient safety," "culture," and "community pharmacy" with synonyms or associated words in the original English language research articles published between January 1, 2012, and March 2, 2023. This systematic review was conducted based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

RESULTS

Eleven surveys from 10 countries were selected. Five studies were conducted on pharmacists, whereas 6 studies were carried out on all pharmacy staff members such as pharmacists, technicians, clerks, and pharmacy students on apprenticeship. There was a considerable variation in the positive response rates across the dimensions of all the surveys. The highest positive response score was demonstrated for "teamwork" and "patient counseling," whereas the "staffing, work pressure, and pace" dimension was essential for improving patient safety culture in community pharmacy settings. For overall rating of the pharmacy on patient safety, 84.8% of pharmacy staff members gave good, very good, or excellent as their responses.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the differences among studies, findings of this study are expected to be used as valuable evidence to develop patient safety improvement strategies after reflecting each country's health care setting or community pharmacy practice. Furthermore, the results would offer meaningful assistance to achieve the goals of global campaigns such as the World Health Organization Patient Safety Challenge.

Patients' Perceptions of Safety in Primary Healthcare Settings: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Qassim Region of Saudi Arabia

This study assessed patients' perceptions of safety and experiences in primary healthcare in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. Between July and September 2022, 730 patients from primary healthcare centers were surveyed using a multi-staged cluster random sampling approach. The Patient-Reported Experiences and Outcomes of Safety in Primary Care (PREOS-PC) questionnaire was used to measure patients' perceived safety and experience in primary healthcare settings within the past year. Descriptive analyses were performed to report patients' perceived safety experiences. The statistical analysis examined individual items and scales. A considerable proportion of patients reported encountering safety problems, ranging from 11% (vaccine-related) to 27% (diagnosis-related). Diagnostic errors were the most common perceived safety problem (26.7%), followed by communication issues (24.1%) and medication errors (16.3%). Between 26% and 40% experienced harm, including financial problems (40%), increased care needs (32.4%), physical health issues (32%), limitations in activities (30.6%), increased healthcare needs (30.2%), and mental health concerns (26.8%). Patient-reported safety experiences reported in our study offer valuable insights into primary care safety in Saudi Arabia. Collecting routine patient feedback is crucial for addressing identified safety problems and implementing standardized procedures.

Predictors and outcomes of patient safety culture at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A nursing perspective

BACKGROUND

Patient safety culture assessment is viewed as the starting point from which action planning begins and helps hospitals get a good idea of the patient safety features that need immediate attention, identify the strengths and weaknesses of their safety culture, help units find their most common patient safety problems, and compare their scores to those of other hospitals. This study aimed to assess nurses' perceptions of patient safety culture composites in a Saudi hospital in the Western region and to explore the association between patient safety culture predictors and outcomes, taking into consideration nurses' characteristics.

METHODS

This study employed a cross-sectional descriptive design with a convenience sample of 184 nurses who are working at inpatient care units at King Khaled Hospital- King Abdulaziz Medical City in Jeddah, Western region, Saudi Arabia. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire consisting of nurses' demographics and work characteristics, and the Patient Safety Culture Hospital Questionnaire (HSOPSC), which proved valid and reliable. Descriptive status, correlation, and regression analysis were applied to patient safety culture composites for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The overall positive response rate of the predictors of patient safety culture in the HSOPSC survey was 63.46%. The mean percent score for predictors ranged from 39.06% to 82.95%. "Teamwork within units" (82.95%) was the highest mean, followed by "organizational learning" (81.88%) and "feedback and communication about errors" (81.25%). In addition to the overall perceived patient safety (59.0%), safety grade, frequency, and number of events are also reported as safety outcome measures.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regardless of the percentage of the safety culture domains, this study agrees that all the domains should be considered high-priority and focused areas for continuous improvement. The results confirmed the need for continuous staff safety training programs to improve their perception and performance of the safety culture.

The Relationship Between Patient Safety Culture and the Intentions of the Nursing Staff to Report a Near-Miss Event During the COVID-19 Crisis

BACKGROUND

Reporting a near-miss event has been associated with better patient safety culture.

PURPOSE

To examine the relationship between patient safety culture and nurses' intention to report a near-miss event during COVID-19, and factors predicting that intention.

METHODS

This mixed-methods study was conducted in a tertiary medical center during the fourth COVID-19 waves in 2020-2021 among 199 nurses working in COVID-19-dedicated departments.

RESULTS

Mean perception of patient safety culture was low overall. Although 77.4% of nurses intended to report a near-miss event, only 20.1% actually did. Five factors predicted nurses' intention to report a near-miss event; the model explains 20% of the variance. Poor departmental organization can adversely affect the intention to report a near-miss event.

CONCLUSIONS

Organizational learning, teamwork between hospital departments, transfers between departments, and departmental disorganization can affect intention to report a near-miss event and adversely affect patient safety culture during a health crisis.

The relationship between job stress and patient safety culture among nurses: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Work stress is one of the leading causes of physical and mental problems among nurses and can affect patient safety. Nurses experiencing stress are more prone to make errors, which has consequences for the safety culture. This study aimed to describe the findings of studies that examined the relationship between job stress and patient safety culture among nurses.

METHODS

A systematic review of published English-language articles from 2017 to 2021 was obtained through an electronic search of three large online databases (i.e., CINAHL through EBSCOhost, Medline through PubMed, and Embase). We used the Statement of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to guide the undertaking of this review. In addition, data extraction and quality assessment were performed for the final seven quantitative articles.

RESULTS

This review showed a significant relationship between job-related stress in its different factors, patient safety culture, and patient safety. Three studies of the seven reviewed articles examined the relationship. The rest of the studies examined the relationship indirectly, discussing factors that impacted job stress and how they affected patient safety culture. However, differences in working conditions and study characteristics affected the results of these studies and the significance of this relationship.

CONCLUSIONS

This review suggests that nursing managers and administrators should consider actions to minimize nursing job stress to the minimum levels and improve their work environment to provide the best possible patient care. Future studies are needed to develop interventions to reduce workplace stress and improve nurses' safety. Furthermore, nurses' managers and educators should train nurses on resilience and how to work in trauma-informed care.

Association between nurses' experiences of workplace incivility and the culture of safety of hospitals: A cross-sectional Study

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

This article examined the association between workplace incivility experiences of nurses and patient safety (PS) culture in hospitals.

BACKGROUND

Workplace incivility, which is characterised by low-intensity behaviours with unclear intention to harm and disruption of workplace ambiance of mutual respect, may threaten the work environment, resulting in an unhealthy and unsafe workplace.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHOD

This study surveyed 261 nurses in Saudi Arabia from June 2019 to August 2019 using the 'Hospital Survey of Patients' Safety Culture' and the 'Nurse Incivility Scale'. A multiple linear regression was performed with unit- and hospital-level PS culture as the dependent variables.

RESULTS

'Organizational learning-continuous improvement' and 'Teamwork within units' were recognised as PS culture strengths. The nurses reported workplace incivility from patient/visitor as the most frequently experienced (mean = 2.27, standard deviation = 0.88). Working in Hospital B (ß = 0.24, p < .001, 95%CI = 0.15, 0.33) and having a baccalaureate degree in nursing (ß = 0.13, p = .014, 95%CI = 0.03, 0.23) were associated with better perceptions of unit-level PS, whereas working in medical-surgical wards (ß = -0.16, p = .002, 95%CI = -0.26, -0.06) and in intensive care units (ß = -0.19, p = .002, 95%CI = -0.32, -0.07) and experiencing patient/visitor incivility (ß = -0.09, p = .004, 95%CI = -0.15, -0.03) were associated with poor unit-level PS culture perceptions. Experiences of general incivility (ß = -0.24, p < .001, 95%CI = -0.35, -0.13) and supervisor incivility (ß = -0.26, p = .011, 95%CI = -0.46, -0.06) were associated with poor hospital-level PS culture perceptions.

CONCLUSIONS

Workplace incivility from patients/visitors had a negative association with unit-level PS culture perceptions, whereas experiences on general and supervisor incivilities had an adverse relationship with hospital-level PS culture perceptions.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

The study emphasises the call to eradicate any form of incivility in healthcare settings to guarantee a PS culture. Hospital and nursing managers should prioritise the creation and implementation of policies aimed at eliminating uncivil behaviours in clinical settings to ensure that unit- and hospital-level PS culture are above standards.

Institutional Factors Associated with Infection Prevention and Control Practices Globally during the Infectious Pandemics in Resource-Limited Settings

Healthcare-associated infections lead to considerable morbidity, a prolonged hospital stay, antibiotic resistance, long-term disability, mortality and increased healthcare costs. Based on the literature, some individual and socio-demographic factors including knowledge, age and length of service or work experience, gender and type of profession influence compliance with infection prevention and control procedures. In addition, organizational culture, which refers to the assumptions, values, and norms shared among colleagues, can influence an individual's thinking and healthcare workers' behavior, either positively or negatively. Infection control practices based on the perspective of patients, hospital management and healthcare workers may help develop a better understanding of the factors influencing compliance with infection prevention and control policies and guidelines.

Patient safety culture in Palestine: university hospital nurses' perspectives

Background

Understanding the perspectives of healthcare workers toward patient safety-related activities is critical in maintaining a healthy safety climate. The objectives of this research are 1) to examine the perception of Patient Safety Culture (PSC) at a university hospital in Palestine, and to highlight areas in need of improvement, and 2) to assess the relationship between the outcome dimensions (frequency of events reported, and overall perceptions of safety) and the other dimensions of PSC, and 3) to determine the relationship among selected demographic variables (gender, age, hospital tenure, work tenure, profession tenure, and hours worked per week) and nurses’ perceptions of PSC.

Methods

A cross-sectional study design was used with a convenience sample of 107 nurses. Nurses were asked by email to complete the Arabic version of the Hospital Survey of Patients’ Safety Culture (HSOPSC) using the SurveyMonkey® online account form within two weeks. The survey data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Univariate and multiple regression were used to examine the relationships.

Results

The dimensions of patient safety with the highest positive response were organizational learning and continuous improvement (87%) and teamwork within units (86%). The dimension with the lowest positive score was the nonpunitive response to error (22%). Multiple regression revealed that the dimension of communication openness was a predictor of the overall perceptions of safety (β = 0.257, p = 0.019). In addition, the dimension of feedback and communication about error was a predictor of the frequency of the reported events (β = 0.334, p = 0.005). Furthermore, age was found to be a predictor of PSC (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

This study provides a general assessment of perceived safety among nurses in a hospital. However, we found that nurses negatively perceive a nonpunitive response to error. Therefore, strenuous efforts are required by hospital management to improve the culture of incident reporting.

Patient safety culture awareness among healthcare providers in a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Patient safety is a serious concern in the health care industry. To enhance patient safety, healthcare providers are expected to minimize accidental harm to patients and enhance the quality of patient-centered care. The main objective of this study is to explore the awareness of the patient safety culture among healthcare providers. It is further intended to assess key fields and factors that hinder patient safety adoption and determine the effects of demographic factors on healthcare providers' awareness of patient safety culture. This study applied a cross-sectional quantitative design. It was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The participants consisted of all healthcare providers working in a specific tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. A random sampling technique was applied in this study. The study sample size was 409 participants. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used to collect the required data. The T-tests, ANOVA. And regression was used. The study found that there is a moderate level of patient safety culture awareness among healthcare providers. Moreover, the findings also revealed that the age group “31–40” showed statistically different awareness levels as compared to the “more than 50 years' age group” (p = 0.012). Also, this study has found that gender and education have a significant influence on the awareness level of patient safety culture while position and work area have no influence on the awareness level of patient safety culture among healthcare providers. Managers in healthcare institutions should develop speeder response plans and make them part of the patient safety culture. Institutions offering bachelor's degrees and postgraduate in nursing should pay more attention to the subject of patient safety. The government healthcare sector, together with the private healthcare sector, should continuously train healthcare providers on patient safety procedures to improve the patient safety culture. Healthcare providers should be encouraged to report errors made during diagnosis or treatments to avoid them in the future.

Patient safety culture in Iranian teaching hospitals: baseline assessment, opportunities for improvement and benchmarking

Background

Patient safety culture is an essential factor in determining the ability of hospitals to treat and reduce patient risks. Healthcare professionals, especially nurses, play an important role in patient safety because they are responsible for direct and ongoing patient care. Few studies in Iran examine the patient safety culture in Iranian teaching hospitals, particularly from the perspective of nursing staff. This research assessed patient safety culture in teaching hospitals in Iran from the nurses’ point of view and compared the outcomes with similar regional and global studies. Furthermore, the study identified the factors influencing patient safety culture and its association with outcomes.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was accomplished in thirty-two teaching hospitals in five provinces of Iran. A total of 2295 nurses were chosen through convenience sampling. Collection data were done using the Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Culture (HOPSC) from October 2018 and September 2019. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression analysis.

Results

The results demonstrated the overall percentage of positive response rate for the HOPSC tool (36.4%). The average percentage of positive responses among all dimensions ranged from 27.1% in “Staffing” to 53.8% in “Teamwork across Hospital Units”. Benchmarking analysis shows that Iranian hospitals are equal or better performance than the benchmark on several composites compared to regional and global findings. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that the age, gender, total years of experience in nursing, work area or unit, work hours, and size of the hospital were significant predictors of the perceptions patient safety culture of nurses (p <  0.05).

Conclusions

This is one of few studies that examine nurses’ perceptions of patient safety culture in public hospitals in Iran. Although the results of the present study showed that the results of Iran were at or better than the many composites in Jordan, Turkey, KSA, and the Philippines. The findings confirmed that all 12 dimensions can be considered as areas requiring improvement, and these results demonstrated that there was a severe shortage in patient safety culture among the included hospitals.

Patient Safety Culture and Its Associated Factors: A Situational Analysis among Nurses in Katsina Public Hospitals, Northwest Nigeria

Background: Patient safety involves identifying, assessing, and managing patient-related risks and occurrences to improve patient care and reduce patient harm. In Nigeria, there is a lack of studies on patient safety culture, especially in the northern part of the country. This study aimed to determine the levels and factors that contribute to nurses’ negative perceptions of patient safety culture in public health facilities. Methodology: A total of 460 nurses were surveyed across 21 secondary health facilities using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, and the response rate was 93.5%. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that 59.8% of the respondents were female, and 42.6% were within the age range of 30–39 years old. Most of them (48.3%) had spent 1–5 years working in the hospital. Three out of 12 composite measures had higher negative responses (staffing—30.5%, non-punitive response to error—42.8%, and frequency of events reported—43.1%). A multiple logistic regression analysis affirmed that all three variables, in addition to organizational learning, were significant associated with overall negative perceptions of patient safety culture, with 3.15, 1.84, 2.26, and 2.39 odds ratios, respectively. Conclusion: The results revealed that four critical areas of patient safety required improvement; therefore, intervention is recommended to minimize unnecessary patient harm and medical expenses.

Perception of Patient Safety Culture among Hospital Staff

Introduction

A patient safety culture (PSC) is a complex phenomenon, representing an essential part of the organizational culture and refers to the shared values, conceptions and beliefs which contribute to the formation and encouragement of safe behavioural models in a health organization. With this study, the authors wanted to delineate the attitude of hospital staff in Bulgaria regarding PSC and to document to whether attitudes differ between physicians and other healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Methods

A national cross-sectional survey among 384 HCPs was conducted using an online version of the Bulgarian version of Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (B-HSOPSC). The data was analysed with descriptive statistics, non-parametric Mann-Whitney U and x 2 tests.

Results

The physicians represented 37.50% (144) of the sample and other HCPs 62.50% (240). Respondents from governmental/municipal hospitals prevailed (53.6%). The dimensions “Staffing” and “Non-punitive response to error” were most problematic, as their percentage of positive response rates (PRRs) were lowest. However, “Handoffs and transitions” and “Supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting safety“ showed the highest mean values in both physicians and other HCPs. From all participants, 76.0% have never reported an adverse event or error.

Conclusion

The results of the study show that all respondents demonstrate a positive attitude regarding PSC. A comparison of the mean values and that of PRRs in the dimensions did not show any group differences, according to the type of staff position, i.e. physicians or other HCPs.

Assessing Patient Safety Culture in Hospital Settings

The current knowledge about patient safety culture (PSC) in the healthcare industry, as well as the research tools that have been used to evaluate PSC in hospitals, is limited. Such a limitation may hamper current efforts to improve patient safety worldwide. This study provides a systematic review of published research on the perception of PSC in hospitals. The research methods used to survey and evaluate PSC in healthcare settings are also explored. A list of academic databases was searched from 2006 to 2020 to form a comprehensive view of PSC's current applications. The following research instruments have been applied in the past to assess PSC: the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSPSC), the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), the Patient Safety Climate in Health Care Organizations (PSCHO), the Modified Stanford Instrument (MSI-2006), and the Scottish Hospital Safety Questionnaire (SHSQ). Some of the most critical factors that impact the PSC are teamwork and organizational and behavioral learning. Reporting errors and safety awareness, gender and demographics, work experience, and staffing levels have also been identified as essential factors. Therefore, these factors will need to be considered in future work to improve PSC. Finally, the results reveal strong evidence of growing interest among individuals in the healthcare industry to assess hospitals' general patient safety culture.

Data on healthcare perceptions about system risk factors associated with patient safety from the Ministry of Health hospitals in Hail Region of Saudi Arabia

Patient protection has become one of the key elements of the quality of health care systems in Saudi Arabia. Medical errors that threaten patient safety are mediated by several factors including system risk factors. Hence, we used a self-structured questionnaire to assess and rank the system factors according to the perceptions of nurses working in the hospitals of the ministry of health in Hail, KSA. Eight out of twelve factors tested were perceived as threatening factors of the patient safety that are; 'Shortage of medical staff', 'Poor design of the hospital structure', 'Long working hours', 'Overcrowding of patients','Poor coordination between hospital departments, 'Punitive and blaming environment, 'Lack of clinical practice standards' and, 'Poor financial incentives'. Thus, considering the negative impact of the identified threatening system factors in this study on patient safety, urgent planning and managing appropriate corrective actions should be designed to improve patient safety issues.

Factors contributing to the patient safety culture in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Patient safety, concerned with the prevention of harm to patients, has become a fundamental component of the global healthcare system. The evidence regarding the status of the patient safety culture in Arab countries in general shows that it is at a suboptimal level due to a punitive approach to errors and deficits in the openness of communications.

OBJECTIVES

To identify factors contributing to the patient safety culture in Saudi Arabia.

DESIGN

Systematic review.

METHODS

A systematic search was carried out in May 2018 in five electronic databases and updated in July 2020-MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Relevant journals and reference lists of included studies were also hand-searched. Two independent reviewers verified that the studies met the inclusion criteria, assessed the quality of studies and extracted their relevant characteristics. The Yorkshire Contributory Factors Framework (YCFF) was used to categorise factors affecting safety culture in the included papers.

RESULTS

14 papers were included and the majority of studies were appraised as being of good quality. Strength and weakness factors that contribute to patient safety culture were identified. Ineffective leadership, a blame culture, workload/inadequate staffing and poor communication are reported as the main factors hindering a positive patient safety culture in Saudi Arabia. Conversely, 'strength' factors contributing to a positive patient safety culture included supportive organisational attitudes to learning/continuous improvement, good teamwork within units and support from hospital management for patient safety. There is an absence of patient perspectives regarding patient safety culture in Saudi Arabia.

CONCLUSION

Policymakers in the Saudi healthcare system should pay attention to the factors that may contribute to a positive patient safety culture, especially establishing a blame-free culture, improving communications and leadership capacity, learning from errors and involving patient perspectives in safety initiatives. Further research is required to understand in depth the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a positive patient safety culture in Saudi Arabia.

Exploring patient-safety culture in the community pharmacy setting: a national cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

The community pharmacy is one setting that plays a crucial role in patient safety. To develop tailored patient safety improvement programs in this setting, it is essential to know the perspectives of the pharmacies' staffs on patient safety. Thus, in this study, we assessed patient-safety culture in the community pharmacy setting in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

Between January and August of 2019, we conducted a cross-sectional study among staff working in the community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia. Data on patient safety culture were collected using the Pharmacy Survey on Patient Safety Culture (PSOPSC). Analyses were performed with descriptive statistics (frequency/percentages), Fisher's Exact test, Chi-square analysis, and multivariable ordinal logistic regression with proportional odds model analysis.

RESULTS

PSOPSC data from 805 community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia were received (response rate: 78%). The overall average positive response rate for the 11 dimensions of the PSOPSC survey was 60.2%, with a range from 34.8% in the dimension of Staffing, Work Pressure, and Pace to 76.4% in the dimension of Teamwork. Most participants responded positively, as in total, 504 (62.6%) of the participants rated their pharmacy as 'excellent' or 'very good' on patient safety. Gender and work experience in a pharmacy were important predictors of the overall patient safety grade.

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed that all dimensions are scope for further improvement, and critical consideration ought to be given to the areas of weakness, for the most part in the dimension of Staffing, Work Pressure, and Pace.

Assessing Building Blocks for Patient Safety Culture-a Quantitative Assessment of Saudi Arabia

Purpose

The study analyzes staffs' perception of a safety culture and their knowledge of safety measures in the hospitals of Saudi Arabia.

Patients and methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted by considering six different public hospitals from Arar city, and by recruiting 503 nurses. Building blocks of patient safety culture were measured through survey questions.

Results

The highest positive rating (81%) was received by both "people support one another in this unit" and "in this unit, people treat each other with respect." Supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting patient safety was rated neutrally (n = 283; 56%) with an average mean score of 3.17±0.50, which suggested a neutral response by participants. Organizational learning, along with continuous improvement, was positively rated (n = 406; 81%) with an average mean score of 3.93±0.61.

Conclusion

It demonstrated that participant nurses neither disagree nor agree on the level of patient safety culture prevailing in their hospital setting.

Clinical practitioners' perception of the dimensions of patient safety culture in a government hospital: A one-sample correlational survey

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To assess the perceptions of clinical practitioners regarding the different dimensions of patient safety culture in their hospital and examine the work-related predictors of patient safety culture perceptions.

BACKGROUND

Patient safety is seen as a progressively critical focus in healthcare areas worldwide. Saudi Arabia aims to improve healthcare quality by providing access to healthcare for its increasing population. Hence, constantly assessing the patient safety culture of healthcare facilities in the country is imperative.

DESIGN

One-sample correlational survey design.

METHODS

The Hospital Survey of Patients' Safety Culture was used to survey the total population sample of 181 healthcare practitioners in a Saudi hospital from December 2018-January 2019. Strengths and weaknesses on PS culture were identified as perceived by the clinical practitioners. Regression analysis was performed to identify the work-related predictors of patient safety culture perceptions. The study followed the STROBE guideline.

RESULTS

Nine of the 12 dimensions measured were identified as patient safety culture weaknesses, including 'management support for patient safety' (49.2%), 'teamwork across unit' (44.2%), 'frequency of events reporting' (43.1%), 'communication openness' (41.3%), 'overall perception of patient safety' (38.7%), 'supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting patient safety' (32.9%), 'staffing' (23.7%), 'hospital handoffs and transitions' (19.6%) and 'non-punitive response to errors' (15.8%). None of the dimensions were identified as strengths by the respondents. Working hours per week and staff position were identified as significant predictors.

CONCLUSIONS

The study underscores the urgent need to improve the patient safety culture of the hospital.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Hospital administrators should highlight initiatives on positive patient safety impact plan for clinical practitioners and patients, such as monitoring, reporting and strictly adhering to hospital activities that reduce the risks associated with exposure to medical care.

Health professionals' perception of patient safety culture in a university hospital in São Paulo: A cross-sectional study applying the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture

BACKGROUND

Patient safety culture is part of the organizational profile of healthcare institutions and is associated with better quality of care.

OBJECTIVE

To assess patient safety culture in a university hospital.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted in a public university hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, between September and December 2015.

METHODS

We randomly selected 68 sectors of the hospital, to include up to 5 employees from each sector, regardless of length of experience. We used the validated Brazilian version of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS) via an electronic interface. We calculated the percentage of positive responses for each dimension of the HSOPS and explored the differences in age, experience, occupation and educational level of respondents using the chi-square test.

RESULTS

Out of 324 invited respondents, 314 (97%) accepted the invitation and were surveyed. The sample presented predominance of women (72%), nursing staff (45%) and employees with less than six years' experience at the hospital (60%). Nine out of the 12 dimensions showed percentages of positive responses below 50%. The worst results related to "nonpunitive response to errors" (16%). A better safety culture was observed among more experienced staff, nurses and employees with a lower educational level. In the previous year, no events were reported by 65% of the participants.

CONCLUSIONS

The patient safety culture presented weaknesses and most of professionals had not reported any event in the previous year. A policy for improvement and cyclical assessment is needed to ensure safe care.

Culture of quality in infection prevention of a hospital as perceived by health care workers

AIM

This research aimed to assess the culture of quality in infection prevention (CQIP) of a university hospital as perceived by health care workers (HCWs).

BACKGROUND

Health care-associated infections are serious concerns in hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Hence, assessing their CQIP is necessary.

METHOD

An investigation employing a descriptive and cross-sectional design was carried out among 623 HCWs (doctors, nurses and nursing assistants) in a university hospital in Saudi Arabia by using the Leading a Culture of Quality in Infection Prevention (LCQ-IP) scale.

RESULTS

The overall mean in the LCQ-IP was 3.86 (SD = 0.62). The subscale "prioritization of quality" (M = 4.11, SD = 0.79) was rated the highest dimension, whereas "supportive work environment" was perceived as the poorest dimension (M = 3.56, SD = 0.54). Gender, nationality, highest education and job title affected the four factors of the HCWs' perceptions of the hospital's CQIP.

CONCLUSION

HCWs modestly perceived their hospital's CQIP. The study highlighted the need for improving CQIP based on the four dimensions.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT

This study provided valuable implications for hospital and nursing management to ensure high-quality culture of infection prevention.

Healthcare Professional's Perception of Patient Safety Measured by the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective

To assess the culture of patient safety in studies that employed the hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPS) in hospitals around the world.

Method

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, CINAHL, and SciELO. Two researchers selected studies and extracted the following data: year of publication, country, percentage of physicians and nurses, sample size, and results for the 12 HSOPS dimensions. For each dimension, a random effects meta-analysis with double-arcsine transformation was performed, as well as meta-regressions to investigate heterogeneity, and tests for publication bias.

Results

59 studies with 755,415 practitioners surveyed were included in the review. 29 studies were conducted in the Asian continent and 11 in the United States. On average studies scored 9 out of 10 methodological quality score. Of the 12 HSOPS dimensions, six scored under 50% of positivity, with “nonpunitive response to errors” the lowest one. In the meta-regression, three dimensions were shown to be influenced by the proportion of physicians and five by the continent where survey was held.

Conclusions

The HSOPS is widely used in several countries to assess the culture of patient safety in hospital settings. The culture of culpability is the main weakness across studies. Encouraging event reporting and learning from errors should be priorities in hospitals worldwide.

Nurses' Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture in Three Hospitals in Saudi Arabia

PURPOSE

To assess the present patient safety culture of three general hospitals in Saudi Arabia, as perceived by nurses.

DESIGN

This study utilized a descriptive, cross-sectional design.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 351 nurses working in three general hospitals in the central region of Saudi Arabia was surveyed in this study using the Hospital Survey of Patients' Safety Culture (HSOPSC) from October 2016 to April 2017.

RESULTS

From the 12 composites of the HSOPSC, the nurses perceived only the following two patient safety areas as strengths: teamwork within units and organizational learning-continuous improvement. Six areas of patient safety were identified as weaknesses, namely overall perception of patient safety, handoffs and transitions, communication openness, staffing, frequency of events reported, and nonpunitive response to errors. Nationality, educational attainment, hospital, length of service in the hospital, work area or unit, length of service in the current work area or unit, current position, and direct patient contact or interaction were significant predictors of the nurses' perceived patient safety culture.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings in this study clarify the current status of patient safety culture in three hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The present findings should be considered by policymakers, hospital leaders, and nurse executives in creating interventions aimed at improving the patient safety culture in hospitals. A multidimensional network intervention targeting the different dimensions of patient safety culture and involving different organizational levels should be implemented to improve patient safety.

Perceived Infection Prevention Climate and Its Predictors Among Nurses in Saudi Arabia

PURPOSE

This study investigated the staff nurses' perception of the infection prevention climate and its predictors in two hospitals.

DESIGN

This is a cross-sectional study employing a convenience sample of 224 staff nurses at two general hospitals in Riyadh province.

METHODS

The study utilized a two-part questionnaire that captures respondents' characteristics and the validated tool on Leading a Culture of Quality for Infection Prevention (LCQ-IP). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized accordingly.

RESULTS

The prioritization of quality received the highest mean score among the four factors of the scale (mean = 3.89, SD = 0.65), followed by supportive work environment (mean = 3.88, SD = 0.68), psychological safety (mean = 3.85, SD = 0.65), and improvement orientation (mean = 3.84, SD = 0.64). Nationality, clinical experience, and attendance to seminars or training were identified as significant predictors.

CONCLUSIONS

The respondents perceived the infection prevention climate of the two general hospitals positively. This study strengthens the idea that organizational context influences negatively or positively the programs on infection prevention being implemented in the hospitals.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The result may facilitate nursing and hospital management to reflect, examine, and review their organizational climate, the impact of infection prevention initiatives and patient safety strategies, and the reason to amend related policies or improve procedures, including the promotion of a healthy work environment.

Status of patient safety culture in Arab countries: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To explore the status of patient safety culture in Arab countries based on the findings of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSPSC).

DESIGN

Systematic review.

METHODS

We performed electronic searches of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ProQuest and PsychINFO, Google Scholar and PubMed databases, with manual searches of bibliographies of included articles and key journals. We included studies that were conducted in the Arab countries that were focused on patient safety culture. 2 reviewers independently verified that the studies met the inclusion criteria and critically assessed the quality of the studies.

RESULTS

18 studies met our inclusion criteria. The review identified that non-punitive response to error is seen as a serious issue which needs to be improved. Healthcare professionals in the Arab countries tend to think that a 'culture of blame' still exists that prevents them from reporting incidents. We found an overall similarity between the reported composite score for dimension of teamwork within units in all of the reviewed studies. Teamwork within units was found to be better than teamwork across hospital units. All of the reviewed studies reported that organisational learning and continuous improvement was satisfactory as the average score of this dimension for all studies was 73.2%. Moreover, the review found that communication openness seems to be a concerning issue for healthcare professionals in the Arab countries.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a need to promote patient safety culture as a strategy for improving the patient safety in the Arab world. Improving patient safety culture should include all stakeholders, like policymakers, healthcare providers and those responsible for medical education. This review was limited only to English language publications. The varied settings in which the HSPSC was used may have influenced the areas of strengths and weaknesses as healthcare workers' perception of safety culture may differ.

Nursing perceptions of patient safety climate in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

AIMS

This study was undertaken to assess the perception of nurses about patient safety culture and to test whether it is significantly affected by the nurses' position, age, experience and working hours.

BACKGROUND

Patient safety has sparked the interest of healthcare mangers, yet there is limited knowledge about the current patient safety culture among nurses in the Gaza Strip.

METHODS

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, administering the Arabic Safety Attitude Questionnaire (Short Form 2006) to 210 nurses in four public general hospitals.

RESULTS

Job Satisfaction was the most highly perceived factor affecting patient safety, followed by Perception of Management. Safety culture varied across nursing position, age, work experience and working hours. Nurse Managers had more positive attitudes towards patients than frontline clinicians did. The more experience nurses had, the better their attitudes towards patient safety. Nurses who worked the minimum weekly required hours and who were 35 years and older had better attitudes towards all patient safety dimensions except for Stress Recognition. Nurses with a positive attitude had better collaboration with healthcare professionals than those without a positive attitude.

LIMITATION

Generalization is limited, as nurses who worked in private and specialized hospitals were excluded.

CONCLUSION

Evaluation of the safety culture is the essential starting point to identify hindrances or drivers for safe patient care. Job Satisfaction, Perception of Management and Teamwork necessitate reinforcement, while Working Conditions, Stress Recognition and Safety Climate require improvement.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

Ensuring job satisfaction through adequate staffing levels, providing incentives and maintaining a collegial environment require both strategic planning and institutional policies at the higher administrative level. Creation of a non-punitive and learning environment, promoting open communication and fostering continuous education should be fundamental aspects of hospital management. A policy of mixing experienced nurses with inexperienced nurses should be considered.

Empowering Sustained Patient Safety: The Benefits of Combining Top-down and Bottom-up Approaches

Implementation of TeamSTEPPS for improving patient safety is examined via descriptive qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews with 21 informants at 12 hospitals. Implementation approaches fit 3 strategies: top-down, bottom-up, and combination. The top-down approach failed to develop enough commitment to spread implementation. The bottom-up approach was unable to marshal the resources necessary to spread implementation. Combining top-down and bottom-up processes best facilitated the implementation and spread of the TeamSTEPPS safety initiative.

Nurses' perceptions of patient safety culture in Jordanian hospitals

BACKGROUND

Patients' safety culture is a key aspect in determining healthcare organizations' ability to address and reduce risks of patients. Nurses play a major role in patients' safety because they are accountable for direct and continuous patient care. There is little known information about patients' safety culture in Jordanian hospitals, particularly from the perspective of healthcare providers.

AIM

The study aimed to assess patient safety culture in Jordanian hospitals from nurses' perspective.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, descriptive design was utilized. A total number of 658 nurses participated in the current study. Data were collected using an Arabic version of the hospital survey of patients' safety culture.

FINDINGS

Teamwork within unit dimensions had a high positive response, and was perceived by nurses to be the only strong suit in Jordanian hospitals. Areas that required improvement, as perceived by nurses, are as follows: communication openness, staffing, handoff and transition, non-punitive responses to errors, and teamwork across units. Regression analysis revealed factors, from nurses' perspectives, that influenced patients' safety culture in Jordanian hospital. Factors included age, total years of experience, working in university hospitals, utilizing evidence-based practice and working in hospitals that consider patient safety to be a priority.

LIMITATIONS

Participants in this study were limited to nurses. Therefore, there is a need to assess patient safety culture from other healthcare providers' perspectives. Moreover, the use of a self-reported questionnaire introduced the social desirability biases.

CONCLUSION

The current study provides insight into how nurses perceive patient safety culture. Results of this study have revealed that there is a need to replace the traditional culture of shame/blame with a non-punitive culture.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY

Study results implied that improving patient safety culture requires a fundamental transformation of nurses' work environment. New policies to improve collaboration between units of hospitals would improve patients' safety.

Saudi Arabian ICU safety culture and nurses' attitudes

PURPOSE

The purpose of this paper is to examine nurses' attitudes towards safety culture in six Saudi Arabian intensive care units (ICUs).

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

The study is descriptive with a cross-sectional design. The Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ)-ICU version was distributed and 216 completed questionnaires were returned.

FINDINGS

The findings provide a basis for further research on Saudi Arabian ICU safety culture. This study showed that the SAQ-ICU can be used to measure safety climate to identify areas for improvement according to nurse attitudes and perceptions. Findings indicate that ICU safety culture is an important issue that hospital managers should prioritise.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

The SAQ-ICU questionnaire, used to measure safety climate in Saudi Arabian ICUs, identifies service strengths and improvement areas according to attitudes and perceptions.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

To the knowledge, this is the first study to use SAQ to examine nurses' safety culture attitudes in Saudi Arabian ICUs. The present findings provide a baseline and further details about Saudi Arabian ICU safety. Study participants represented nine nationalities, indicating the nursing workforce's diversity, which is expected to continue in the future. Such a nursing cultural heterogeneity calls for further studies to examine and evaluate attitudes and values to improve ICU safety culture.