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VIRTIČ POTOČNIK T, KLEMENC-KETIŠ Z. Perception Of Patient Safety Culture At The Primary Care Level: The Case Of The Community Health Centre Ljubljana. Zdr Varst 2024; 63:21-29. [PMID: 38156339 PMCID: PMC10751894 DOI: 10.2478/sjph-2024-0004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Patient safety is a crucial element of quality healthcare, and endeavours to enhance it are vital for attaining universal health coverage and improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the perception of patient safety culture among staff at the Community Health Centre Ljubljana (CHCL). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2022. All CHCL staff (N=1,564) from different professional groups were invited to participate in an anonymous electronic survey using the validated Slovenian version of the "Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture" (MOSPSC). Mean percent positive scores for all items in each composite were calculated. Results The final sample included 377 participants (response rate, 24.1%), most of whom were women (91.5%, N=345) with different professional profiles. The mean age of the participants was 44.5 years (SD 11.1) with a mean work experience of 20.1 years (SD 12.1). The percentage of positive overall MOSPSC composite scores was 59.6%. A strong patient safety culture perception was identified in the following dimensions: Information exchange with other settings (93.5%), Organisational learning (90.2%), List of patient safety and quality issues (88.1%), Patient care tracking/follow-up (76.2 %) and Teamwork (75.0%). Weak patient safety culture was identified in the dimensions of Work pressure and pace (10.7%), Leadership support for patient safety (27.1%), Communication openness (40.9%), Office processes and standardisation (48.2%) and Overall ratings on quality and patient safety (49.4%). Conclusions CHCL leadership should address weaknesses, redesign processes, and implement strategies to reduce patient safety incidents. Establishing a just culture that encourages employees to report errors fosters transparency and facilitates learning from errors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina VIRTIČ POTOČNIK
- Community Health Centre Ljubljana, Primary Healthcare Research and Development Institute, Metelkova 9, 1000Ljubljana, Slovenia
- University of Maribor, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Taborska 8, 2000Maribor, Slovenia
| | - Zalika KLEMENC-KETIŠ
- Community Health Centre Ljubljana, Primary Healthcare Research and Development Institute, Metelkova 9, 1000Ljubljana, Slovenia
- University of Maribor, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Taborska 8, 2000Maribor, Slovenia
- University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Poljanski nasip 58, 1000Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Olesen AE, Juhl MH, Deilkås ET, Kristensen S. Review: application of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) in primary care - a systematic synthesis on validity, descriptive and comparative results, and variance across organisational units. BMC PRIMARY CARE 2024; 25:37. [PMID: 38273241 PMCID: PMC10809511 DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02273-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Patient safety research has focused mostly on the hospital and acute care setting whereas assessments of patient safety climate in primary health care settings are warranted. Valid questionnaires as e.g., the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) may capture staff perceptions of patient safety climate but until now, an overview of the use of SAQ in primary care has not been systematically presented. Thus, the aim of this systematic review is to present an overview of SAQ used in primary care.Methods The electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, Cinahl, PsycInfo and Web of Science were used to find studies that used any version of SAQ in primary care. Studies were excluded if only abstract or poster was available, as the information in abstract and posters was deemed insufficient. Commentaries and nonempirical studies (e.g., study protocols) were excluded. Only English manuscripts were included.Results A total of 43 studies were included and 40 of them fell into four categories: 1) validation analysis, 2) descriptive analysis, 3) variance assessment and 4) intervention evaluation and were included in further analyses. Some studies fell into more than one of the four categories. Seventeen studies aimed to validate different versions of SAQ in a variety of settings and providers. Twenty-five studies from fourteen different countries reported descriptive findings of different versions of SAQ in a variety of settings. Most studies were conducted in primary health care centres, out-of-hours clinics, nursing homes and general practice focusing on greatly varying populations. One study was conducted in home care. Three studies investigated variance of SAQ scores. Only five studies used SAQ to assess the effects of interventions/events. These studies evaluated the effect of electronic medical record implementation, a comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program or COVID-19.Conclusion The synthesis demonstrated that SAQ is valid for use in primary care, but it is important to adapt and validate the questionnaire to the specific setting and participants under investigation. Moreover, differences in SAQ factor scores were related to a variety of descriptive factors, that should be considered in future studies More studies, especially variance and intervention studies, are warranted in primary care.Trial registration This systematic review was not registered in any register.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Estrup Olesen
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Aalborg University Hospital, Mølleparkvej 8a, 9000, Aalborg, Denmark.
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Selma Lagerløfs Vej 249, 9260, Gistrup, Denmark.
| | - Marie Haase Juhl
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Aalborg University Hospital, Mølleparkvej 8a, 9000, Aalborg, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Selma Lagerløfs Vej 249, 9260, Gistrup, Denmark
| | - Ellen Tveter Deilkås
- Health Services Research Unit, Akershus University Hospital, Sykehusveien 25, Oslo, Norway
| | - Solvejg Kristensen
- Aalborg University Hospital, Psychiatry, Mølleparkvej 10, 9000, Aalborg, Denmark
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Variation in Perception of Safety Culture in Out-of-hours Family Medicine Service in Croatia. Zdr Varst 2021; 60:152-157. [PMID: 34249161 PMCID: PMC8256768 DOI: 10.2478/sjph-2021-0022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) is among the most frequently cited tools for measuring safety culture in healthcare settings. Its ambulatory version was used in this study. The aim was to assess safety culture in out-of-hours (OOH) family medicine service and its variation across job positions, regions, and respondents’ demographic characteristic. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was carried out targeting 358 health professionals working in the 29 largest Croatian healthcare centres providing out-of-hours family medicine service. The response rate was 51.7% (185 questionnaires). The questionnaire comprised 62 Likert items with 5 responses (fully disagree to fully agree). Scores of negatively worded items were reversed before analysis. Scores on the total scale and subscales were calculated as additive scores. The study included demographic data on gender, age, working experience, and job position. Repeated measurement analysis of variance was used to assess variation of Safety Attitudes Questionnaire – Ambulatory Version (SAQ-AV) sub-scales. Results Nurses assessed safety culture higher than did physicians and residents. Teamwork climate had higher scores than Ambulatory process of care and Organizational climate. Stress recognition and Perceptions of workload had the lowest overall scores. Variation across gender, age, working experience, and region was not statistically significant. Conclusions SAQ-AV can be used to identify areas for improvement in patient safety at OOH GPs. There is a need to improve staffing and support for OOH GP residents. Further research is needed in order to gain better understanding of factors influencing observed variations among job positions.
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The Safety Culture of The Ljubljana Community Health Centre's Employees. Zdr Varst 2021; 60:145-151. [PMID: 34249160 PMCID: PMC8256766 DOI: 10.2478/sjph-2021-0021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Patient safety is one of the key aspects of healthcare quality and a serious global public health concern. Patient safety culture is a part of the patient safety concept. In Slovenia, primary care is easily accessible, and for medical care, it serves as a gatekeeper to hospital care. For several years, the quality and safety at the primary healthcare level have been the focus of several studies. The present study aimed to assess patient safety culture among all employees of the Community Health Centre Ljubljana. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in 2017 using the Slovene version of “Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture” from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Mean percent positive scores on all items in each composite were calculated according to a user guide. Results The final sample contained 1021 participants (67.8% response rate), of which 909 (89.0%) were women. The mean age of the sample was 43.0±11.0 years. The dimensions most highly rated by the respondents were: teamwork and patient care tracking/follow-up. The lowest scores came from leadership support for patients’ safety and work pressure and pace. Conclusion Patient safety culture in the Community Health Centre Ljubljana is high, but there are certain areas of patient safety that need to be evaluated further and improved. Our study revealed differences between professions, indicating that a customized approach per profession group might contribute to the successful implementation of safety strategies. Patient safety culture should be studied at national levels.
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Patient safety culture in Italian out-of-hours primary care service: a national cross-sectional survey study. BJGP Open 2020; 4:bjgpopen20X101098. [PMID: 33172847 PMCID: PMC7880172 DOI: 10.3399/bjgpopen20x101098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Out-of-hours (OOH) services in Italy provide >10 million consultations every year. To the authors' knowledge, no data on patient safety culture (PSC) have been reported. Aim To assess PSC in the Italian OOH setting. Design & setting National cross-sectional survey using the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire — Ambulatory Version (SAQ-AV). Method The SAQ-AV was translated into Italian and distributed in a convenience sample of OOH doctors in 2015. Answers were collected anonymously by Qualtrics. Stata (version 14) was used to estimate Cronbach’s alpha, perform exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, correlate items to doctors’ characteristics, and to do item descriptive analysis. Results Overall, 692 OOH doctors were contacted, with a 71% response rate. In the exploratory factor analysis (EFA), four factors were identified: Communication and Safety Climate (14 items); Perceptions of Management (eight items); Workload and Clinical Risk (six items); and Burnout Risk (four items). These four factors accounted for 68% of the total variance (Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin [KMO] statistic = 0.843). Cronbach’s alpha ranged from 0.710–0.917. OOH doctors were often dissatisfied with their job; there is insufficient staff to provide optimal care and there is no training or supervision for new personnel and family medicine trainees. Service managers are perceived as distant, with particular issues concerning the communication between managers and OOH doctors. A large proportion of OOH doctors (56.8%) state that they do not receive adequate support. Conclusion These findings could be useful for informing policies on how to improve PSC in Italian OOH service.
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Safety Culture at Primary Healthcare Level: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Employees with a Leadership Role. Zdr Varst 2019; 59:42-46. [PMID: 32952702 PMCID: PMC7478083 DOI: 10.2478/sjph-2020-0006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction An effective leadership is critical to the development of a safety culture within an organization. With this study, the authors wanted to assess the self-perceived level of safety culture among the employees with a leadership function in the Ljubljana Community Health Centre. Methods This was a cross-sectional study in the largest community health centre in Slovenia. We sent an invitation to all employees with a leadership role (N=211). The Slovenian version of the SAQ - Short Form as a measurement of a safety culture was used. The data on demographic characteristics (gender, age, role, work experience, working hours, and location of work) were also collected. An electronic survey was used. Results The final sample consisted of 154 (69.7%) participants, out of which 136 (88.3%) were women. The mean age and standard deviation of the sample was 46.2±10.5 years. The average scores for the safety culture domains on a scale from 1 to 5 were 4.1±0.6 for Teamwork Climate, Safety Climate, and Working Conditions and Satisfaction, 3.7±0.5 for Perception of Management, 3.6±0.4 for Communication, and 3.5±0.6 for Stress Recognition. Conclusion The safety culture among leaders in primary healthcare organizations in Slovenia is perceived as positive. There is also a strong organizational culture. Certain improvements are needed, especially in the field of communication and stress recognition with regards to safety culture.
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Klemenc-Ketis Z, Makivić I, Poplas-Susič A. Safety culture in the primary health care settings based on workers with a leadership role: the psychometric properties of the Slovenian-language version of the safety attitudes questionnaire - short form. BMC Health Serv Res 2018; 18:767. [PMID: 30305161 PMCID: PMC6180368 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-018-3594-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Safety culture describes leader and staff interactions, attitudes, routines, awareness, and practices within an organisation. With this study, we aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Slovenian-language version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) – Short Form in primary health care settings. Methods This was a cross-sectional study in the largest primary health care in Slovenia. We invited all employees with a leadership role to participate in the study (N = 211). We used the Slovenian-language version of the SAQ – Short Form. Results There were 154 participants in the final sample (73.0% response rate), of which 136 (88.3%) were women. The mean age of the sample was 46.2 ± 10.0 years. Exploratory factor analysis put forward six factors: 1) Perceptions of Management; 2) Stress recognition; 3) Teamwork Climate; 4) Communication; 5) Safety Climate; 6) Working Conditions and Satisfaction. This model explained 61.7% of the variance of the safety culture in the primary health care setting. The reliability of the whole scale and of the six factors, assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, was all above 0.78. Conclusion The results of our study suggests that the Slovenian-language version of the SAQ – Short Form with six factors could be a reliable and valid tool for measuring the safety culture in the primary health care workers with leadership role In Slovenia. The Slovenian version differed from the original SAQ – Short Form and the majority of other translated versions. Also, the data was from one health centre only and therefore we cannot draw strong conclusions on its external validity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zalika Klemenc-Ketis
- Ljubljana Community Health Centre, Metelkova 9, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia. .,Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, Taborska 8, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia. .,Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Poljanski nasip 58, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Irena Makivić
- Ljubljana Community Health Centre, Metelkova 9, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Klemenc-Ketis Z, Makivić I, Poplas Susic A. The development and validation of a new interprofessional team approach evaluation scale. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201385. [PMID: 30092005 PMCID: PMC6084891 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A team approach in health care involves an interprofessional approach to patient care. We wanted to develop and validate a tool that would evaluate the interprofessional team approach to patients of a family medicine team. We performed a descriptive study in three consecutive phases: a literature review, consensus development panels, and a cross-sectional validation study. Three rounds of consensus development panels were carried out in order to evaluate and adapt the initial scale. The cross-sectional study was carried out in all Slovenian family medicine practices, each invited 10 consecutive patients. In the quantitative study, 3,292 patients participated (a 50.7% response rate), of which 1,810 (55.0%) were women. The mean age of the sample was 53.1 ± 1.2 years. The final Cronbach’s alpha was 0.901. A factor analysis of the 9-item scale put forward two factors (Team Approach and Person-Centred approach) which explained 68.6% of the variance. This study provided a new scale for the evaluation of patient satisfaction with the interprofessional family medicine team from the patients’ point of view. It opened the question of family medicine team competencies and pointed towards the need to develop a family medicine interprofessional team competency framework and a comprehensive tool for its assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zalika Klemenc-Ketis
- Community Health Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
- * E-mail:
| | - Irena Makivić
- Community Health Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Smits M, Keizer E, Giesen P, Deilkås ECT, Hofoss D, Bondevik GT. Patient safety culture in out-of-hours primary care services in the Netherlands: a cross-sectional survey. Scand J Prim Health Care 2018; 36:28-35. [PMID: 29334826 PMCID: PMC5901437 DOI: 10.1080/02813432.2018.1426150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To examine patient safety culture in Dutch out-of-hours primary care using the safety attitudes questionnaire (SAQ) which includes five factors: teamwork climate, safety climate, job satisfaction, perceptions of management and communication openness. DESIGN Cross-sectional observational study using an anonymous web-survey. Setting Sixteen out-of-hours general practitioner (GP) cooperatives and two call centers in the Netherlands. Subjects Primary healthcare providers in out-of-hours services. Main outcome measures Mean scores on patient safety culture factors; association between patient safety culture and profession, gender, age, and working experience. RESULTS Overall response rate was 43%. A total of 784 respondents were included; mainly GPs (N = 470) and triage nurses (N = 189). The healthcare providers were most positive about teamwork climate and job satisfaction, and less about communication openness and safety climate. The largest variation between clinics was found on safety climate; the lowest on teamwork climate. Triage nurses scored significantly higher than GPs on each of the five patient safety factors. Older healthcare providers scored significantly higher than younger on safety climate and perceptions of management. More working experience was positively related to higher teamwork climate and communication openness. Gender was not associated with any of the patient safety factors. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed that healthcare providers perceive patient safety culture in Dutch GP cooperatives positively, but there are differences related to the respondents' profession, age and working experience. Recommendations for future studies are to examine reasons for these differences, to examine the effects of interventions to improve safety culture and to make international comparisons of safety culture. Key Points Creating a positive patient safety culture is assumed to be a prerequisite for quality and safety. We found that: • healthcare providers in Dutch GP cooperatives perceive patient safety culture positively; • triage nurses scored higher than GPs, and older and more experienced healthcare professionals scored higher than younger and less experienced professionals - on several patient safety culture factors; and • within the GP cooperatives, safety climate and openness of communication had the largest potential for improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marleen Smits
- Radboud Scientific Center for Quality of Healthcare (IQ healthcare), Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- NIVEL, Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- CONTACT Marleen Smits NIVEL, Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, P.O. Box 1568, Utrecht, 3500 BN, The Netherlands
| | - Ellen Keizer
- Radboud Scientific Center for Quality of Healthcare (IQ healthcare), Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Paul Giesen
- Radboud Scientific Center for Quality of Healthcare (IQ healthcare), Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ellen Catharina Tveter Deilkås
- Health Services Research Unit, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
- The Norwegian Directorate of Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Dag Hofoss
- Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Gunnar Tschudi Bondevik
- Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- National Centre for Emergency Primary Health Care, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway
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