Assessment of the patient safety culture in primary health care

Abstract

Objective: Assess the professionals’ perception on the patient safety culture in primary health care. Methods: quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive survey, using the questionnaire “Pesquisa sobre Cultura de Segurança do Paciente para Atenção Primária”, which assesses 12 dimensions of the patient safety culture. Dimensions scoring 75% or higher were considered positive. Results: The dimensions “information exchange with other institutions” (79%), “teamwork” (79%), “patient care tracking/follow-up” (80%), “patient safety and quality problems” (83%), while “leadership support for patient safety” (47%) showed to be a weak area. A significant difference was found when comparing the variables length of experience and professional category with the average percentages of positive answers. Conclusion: The results showed that the Primary Health Care professional perceived the dimensions of the patient safety culture positively, and only “leadership support for patient safety” was considered as a weak area.