COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PATIENT SAFETY CULTURE DYNAMICS IN UKRAINE AND THE USA HEALTHCARE FACILITIES REFERENCE TO ESTABLISHING SAFE HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Introduction. WHO widely draws the attention of the world community to safety culture as an effective basis for ensuring safety in the hospital environment. However, WHO warns that "changing culture is more difficult than introducing new structural and organizational mechanisms". Therefore, systems for assessing patient safety culture in hospitals are widely used in many countries today.
 The aim of the study. To analyze and compare the dynamics of patient safety culture in Ukraine and the USA healthcare facilities.
 Materials and methods. The study utilized bibliographic, statistical, and sociological research methods. The research material consisted of a questionnaire survey of medical personnel on patient safety culture in 2016 (163 surveys from 3 healthcare facilities) and a questionnaire survey conducted in 2023 (174 surveys from 4 healthcare facilities). Results of patient safety culture monitoring in US hospitals for 2014 and 2021 were used for comparison. The survey of medical personnel was conducted using the AHRQ leadership questionnaire.
 Results. The percentage of positive responses for 5 out of the 12 characteristics of patient safety culture that we investigated in domestic healthcare facilities in 2023 was significantly lower than in 2016. The main reason for this negative trend in patient safety culture within domestic healthcare facilities can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's military aggression, but the primary cause lies in the absence of a comprehensive strategy for improving this culture. Over the past 8 years, the proportion of respondents willing to disclose errors in their professional activities, as well as the mistakes of their colleagues and other incidents, without fearing that their mistakes and incident reports will harm them, has remained largely unchanged. The slight trend toward improvement in patient safety culture indicators in US hospitals, despite significant attention to it, indicates the challenges we face in the journey towards forming a positive safety culture.
 Conclusions. The prevailing reactive safety culture in domestic healthcare, along with the lack of positive changes, hinders the implementation of modern safety strategies in the medical field. The data from our own research and scientific literature highlight the urgent need for in-depth examination of the state of patient safety culture in domestic healthcare facilities and the development of a methodological framework adapted to international standards for evaluating safety culture in medical institutions. The formation of a positive national culture in general, and safety culture within healthcare facilities in particular, should be regarded as a crucial prerequisite for the post-war reconstruction of the country and its integration into the civilized, economically developed global community.