A Study to Assess Patient Safety Culture amongst a Category of Hospital Staff of a Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Patient Safety is an important aspect of health care and is an issue of high concern globally, since the magnitude of the harm done to patients by preventable errors is alarming. It is essential for every health care institution and hence instilling Patient safety culture amongst all staff involved in health care delivery is of vital importance. A survey tool called " Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture Questionnaire'' was developed by a private research organization under contract with, and funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The questionnaire comprises of Question Items, and measures the aspects of Safety Culture at identified levels. The tool was modified, minimally, to suit the requirement of the setting. The responses were analyzed using "Data Entry and Analysis Tool" software from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Analysis of the responses to the survey questionnaire showed that the average patient safety culture in the subject sample was 48% across all items of dimensions and levels of culture. The study, carried out in a section of hospital Staff, is an attempt to understand the subject and methods of assessing safety culture and helps in conducting a detailed study to cover all categories of the hospital staff. in order to assess overall safety culture in the organization towards Patient safety