Assessment of Patient Safety Culture in Saudi Hospitals: A Baseline Study in the Eastern Region

Abstract

Promoting a culture of safety has become one of the pillars of patient safety movement. There is growing international interest in establishing a culture of safety for healthcare quality. The study objective was to conduct a baseline assessment of the patient safety culture in two hospitals in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia; to identify general strengths and recognize the areas for patient safety improvements. Cross-sectional design was adopted utilizing the validated Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The survey evaluated 12 patient safety culture dimensions, and a total of 726 healthcare staff participated giving a 61% response rate. The overall percentage of positive responses among dimensions of patient safety was 58%. The dimensions that received the highest percentage of positive responses, which was considered strengths, were organizational learning and continuous improvement (79%), and teamwork within units (77%); whereas those with the lowest percentage of positive responses, which considered areas for improvements, were non-punitive response to error (22%) and staffing (31%). Having a strong safety culture is associated with having a committed and supportive leadership, encouraging teamwork within units, adequate staff to handle the workload, proper communication mechanisms, systematic reporting, and a blame free environment.