The Relationship between Health Care Provider's Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture and Patient's Perceptions of Medical Errors in Teaching Hospitals in Tehran: 2011

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between care providers'' perception of patient safety culture and patients'' perception of medical errors in teaching hospitals in Tehran. It was a descriptive analytical and cross- sectional study. The population consisted of 216 health care providers and 216 patients selected using stratified random sampling in 13 general teaching hospitals in Tehran. Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Culture was used to assess health care providers'' perceptions of patient safety culture and a researcher-made questionnaire was developed to assess patients'' perceptions of medical errors. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation test. The results showed an expected direction (negative) among the relationships and coefficients correlation between patient perception of medical errors and hospital management supported the patient safety (r=-0. 586، p= 0. 035)، frequency of event reporting (r=-0. 625، p= 0. 022)، hospital handoffs and transition (r= -0. 637، p= 0. 019) and HSOPS dimension average (r= -0. 602، p=0. 03) were statistically significant. The findings supported the idea that there are fewer medical errors in hospitals with more positive patient safety culture. Further research is needed to determine the generalizability of these results to other hospitals and to assess the relationship between patient safety culture and other patient outcomes.