Abstract
AimTo explore the differences in perceived patient safety culture in cancer nurses working in Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.DesignAn exploratory cross‐sectional survey.MethodsIn 2018, 393 cancer nurses completed the 12 dimensions of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture.ResultsThe mean score for the overall patient safety grade was 61.3. The highest rated dimension was “teamwork within units” while “staffing” was the lowest in all four countries. Nurses in the Netherlands and in the United Kingdom, scored higher on “communication openness”, the “frequency of events reported”, and “non‐punitive response to errors”, than nurses from Estonia or Germany. We found statistically significant differences between the countries for the association between five of the 12 dimensions with the overall patient safety grade: overall perception of patient safety, communication openness, staffing, handoffs and transitions and non‐punitive response to errors.ConclusionPatient safety culture, as reported by cancer nurses, varies between European countries and contextual factors, such as recognition of the nursing role and education have an impact on it. Cancer nurses’ role in promoting patient safety is a key concern and requires better recognition on a European and global level.ImpactCancer Nursing Societies in any country can use these data as an indication on how to improve patient care in their country. Recognition of cancer nursing as a distinct specialty in nursing will help to improve patient safety.
Highlights
Patient safety is defined as the prevention of errors and adverse effects to patients associated with health care (World Health Organisation, 2018)
The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that health care has become more effective during recent de‐ cades, and more complex and that these complexities may chal‐ lenge efforts to improve patient safety as risks may increase
The overall goal is to increase recognition of the value and contribution of cancer nursing across Europe. This exploratory study is a part of the second phase of the RECaN project, where the patient safety culture in cancer nursing is com‐ pared across four European countries
Summary
Patient safety is defined as the prevention of errors and adverse effects to patients associated with health care (World Health Organisation, 2018). Safe procedures and the correct use of devices are crucial steps in safety promotion (Kullberg et al, 2013; Mattsson et al, 2015), as is the courage to speak up and question when ad‐ verse events do occur in practice, including risks and near misses (Schwappach & Gehring, 2014) This requires a safety culture where adverse events can be reported without staff being blamed and if mistakes do occur, lessons are learned. This exploratory study is a part of the second phase of the RECaN project, where the patient safety culture in cancer nursing is com‐ pared across four European countries
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