Safety attitudes build safety culture: Nurse/midwife leaders improving health care using quantitative data.

Abstract

We aim to determine safety attitudes of nurses and midwives across a Local Health District in Australia and compare results 1 year later following facilitated feedback of results. Positive safety cultures are imperative for positive patient and staff outcomes. Staff member's attitude contribute to an organisations safety culture but can differ between health professional groups and across different subcultures. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ-Short version) was administered to all nurses and midwives within a Local Health District in NSW, Australia in 2019 and 2020. Results were facilitated back to nursing/midwifery leadership teams with an expectation of developing and enacting an action plan, based on results. Of the six domains in the SAQ-Short version, five domains scores increased significantly (p < .001) over the time period. Measures over time are important to establish differences in perceptions and feedback on impact of actions. Facilitated feedback of results shows meaning when nursing/midwifery leadership staff have data explained and an opportunity to discuss and plan. This study shows that facilitated feedback of quantitative survey results brings improved results when a survey is replicated. Nurse managers should enact a contextualized action plan with teams based on survey results to influence improvement in safety attitudes of staff.