EVALUATING PATIENT SAFETY CULTURE IN PERSONNEL OF ACADEMIC HOSPITALS IN URMIA UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES IN 2011

Healthcare organizations in Iran are striving to improve patient safety and quality of care through implementation of safety systems and creating a culture of safety. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the rate of supporting a culture of patient safety at Urmia hospitals.

In this descriptive-analytical and cross- sectional study the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture standard questionnaire was used to assess the culture of patient safety in Urmia that was prepared by The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The survey questionnaire was distributed hospital-wide in 4 hospitals of Urmia city, to 500 health professionals including nurses, physicians, staffs of radiology ward, staffs of laboratory ward, supervisors/managers.

Overall Patient Safety Grade was rated as excellent or very good by 23% of respondents, acceptable by 52%, poor 20% and failing by 5%, respectively. 70% of respondents believed that the staff feels not free to question the decisions or actions of those with more authority. Areas of strength for most hospitals were teamwork within units, handoffs and transitions. Areas with potential for improvement for most hospitals were non-punitive response to error, frequency of events reported, staffing, and communication openness, management support for patient safety, feedback and communication about errors. By using regression model we determined some patients’ culture safety aspects that were important in overall grade.

Leadership is a critical element to the effectiveness of patient safety initiatives. Response to errors is an important determinant of safety culture in healthcare organizations. In order for healthcare organizations to create a culture of safety and improvement, they must eliminate fear of blame and create a climate of open communication and continuous learning.