Relationship between job satisfaction and patient safety culture

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between safety culture and job satisfaction in a medium-stay hospital, showing the relationships between the dimensions that define both constructs and identifying the dimensions with the greatest impact on both variables. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in 2015, using the Basque Health Service Job Satisfaction Survey and the Spanish version of the «Hospital Survey on Patient Safety» questionnaire (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). Result Variables: high job satisfaction and high degree of perceived security (score ≥75th percentile). Predictor variables: socio-demographic characteristics and perception of the evaluated dimensions. The association between variables was quantified by adjusted odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval. Results: The mean job satisfaction was 7.21 (standard deviation [SD]: 2.01) and the mean of perceived safety was 7.48 (SD = 1.98). The 75th percentile of the distribution in both cases was 9. The socio-demographic variables had little significance, while a positive perception of many of the considered dimensions, was associated with high perception of the result variables. In the data analysis were obtained multiple significant correlations and cross-relations between the dimensions that define both constructs, as well as between the degree of satisfaction of the dimensions considered and the outcome variables. Conclusion: The results obtained evidenced the relationship between job satisfaction and safety culture and quantify the association degree between the studied variables. The adjusted OR identifies the variables most strongly associated with the effect and helps to select improvement areas.