Assessment of patient safety culture in primary health care in Muscat, Oman: a questionnaire -based survey

Sarah Dennis,Muna Habib Al Lawati,Nadia Noor Abdulhadi,Stephanie D Short,Sathiya Murthi Panchatcharam

doi:10.1186/s12875-019-0937-4

Abstract

BackgroundPatient safety is a universal issue which affects countries at all stages of health system development. Patient safety research in primary care reveals that globally millions of people suffer disabilities, injuries, or death due to unsafe medical practices. This study aims to explore the understanding of frontline primary health care professionals regarding patient safety culture in health care facilities in Oman.MethodsA questionnaire–based survey was conducted using a validated Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Culture tool. Invitations were sent to all 198 health professionals from each occupational category from each primary care center in Muscat, Oman.ResultsThe total number of respondents was 186 participants out of 198 (response rate: 94%). Overall, the staff had a strong sense of teamwork within the units (85%), they reported organization learning for continuous improvement (84%) and teamwork across the units (82%). However, the four dimensions which received the lowest scores were related to communication problems between the staff (23%), non-punitive response to errors (27%), frequency of event reporting (40%), and errors occurring when transferring patients to higher levels of health care during handoffs and transitions (46%).ConclusionsOverall, the participants rated patient safety in the primary health care setting as excellent or very good and the perception of patient safety was moderately positive. The core areas of strength were teamwork within the units with positivity and organization learning and continuous improvement. The weaknesses were non-punitive response to errors, inadequate staffing and hand offs and transition. The results of this study will provide policy makers and health care professionals with a detailed understanding of the current patient safety culture in primary care in Muscat, Oman. The results will be used by the Ministry of Health to inform policy and strategies to strengthen patient safety within primary health care in Oman.

Highlights

Patient safety is a universal issue which affects countries at all stages of health system development
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines patient safety as “the prevention of errors and adverse effects to patients associated with health care” and “to do no harm to
The aim of this study was to explore the understanding of primary health care professionals regarding patient safety culture in primary health care facilities in Oman, in order to establish a baseline for the strengthening of patient safety in primary health care in Oman

Summary

Introduction

Patient safety is a universal issue which affects countries at all stages of health system development. Patient safety research in primary care reveals that globally millions of people suffer disabilities, injuries, or death due to unsafe medical practices. Unsafe medical practices lead to disabilities, injuries and death each year to millions of patients worldwide [1]. AL Lawati et al BMC Family Practice (2019) 20:50 take place in primary care and many of the incidents identified in hospitals may have originated in primary care, making the need for primary care patient safety research even more important. There is no single standard to identify patient safety incidents in primary care [5]. Attaining a culture of safety is a vital first step and requires an understanding of the values, beliefs, and norms about what is significant in an organizations, and what attitudes and behaviors applicable to patient safety are anticipated [8]. Organizations with a positive safety culture are characterized by communications founded on mutual trust, shared perceptions of the importance of safety, and by confidence in the efficacy of preventive measures [8]

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