Patient safety culture: Evaluation by nursing professionals

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the patient safety culture of nursing teams in the hospital context. Method: from a nursing point of view, a cross-sectional quantitative study, of the survey type, was performed. The data collection occurred between June and July 2013. The questionnaire Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture was used, answered by 437 professionals of the nursing team, with a response rate of 100%. Results: among the twelve dimensions evaluated, only six had positive response rates greater than 50%, being the frequency of event reporting (61.4%), organizational learning-continuous improvement (60.5%), non-punitive responses to errors (58%), teamwork within the unit (57.1%), shift/orderly and transfers (53.1%), and feedback of information and communication about error (51.8%). Conclusion: in order to reach a positive safety culture, improvement actions involving management and leadership are required: general perception of safety; expectations about the supervisor/boss and actions that promote safety; the opening of communication; support of hospital management for patient safety and teamwork between units.