Comparative Evaluation of Pharmacy Patient Safety Culture in all Levels of Health Care Delivery in Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

In health care, there is a move towards a patient safety culture as a means of ensuring sustainable positive patient care outcomes. This study evaluated the safety cultures in the health institutions in Delta State, Nigeria. An adapted form of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Questionnaire on Pharmacy Safety was administered to 118 pharmacy personnel in 10 hospitals spread across the 3 senatorial districts. Data was analyzed with SPSS.20. The number of pharmacists was inadequate; pharmacy organization at the secondary and tertiary levels was better than the primary level; At all three levels, the safety cultures of Staff Training and Skills, Teamwork, Communication Openness, and Patient Counseling were generally positively rated. Highly significant differences existed in the safety culture of documenting mistakes in the pharmacy. There were significant differences in most culture composites between the three levels of care. The general trend was Tertiary>Secondary>Primary in positivity. On the overall Rating of Patient Safety, all levels were rated Very Good / Excellent. However, there were isolated lapses in safety culture composites requiring attention; pharmacy managers, in particular, are therefore enjoined to re-evaluate the safety cultures in their domain to  identify areas of systemic failure.