Patient Safety Culture in Intensive Care Units in the Viewpoint of Nurses in Tehran, Iran

Patient safety culture is a key element for the improvement of patient safety in the healthcare system, which plays a pivotal role in the quality of nursing care. The present study aimed to assess the patient safety culture in the viewpoint of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses.

This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 nurses employed in the ICUs and critical care units (CCUs) of four teaching hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran in 2019. The subjects were selected via stratified sampling with proper allocation. Data were collected using the demographic and patient safety culture questionnaires. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The mean score of the patient safety culture in the viewpoint of the nurses was 144.33±10.98. Among the dimensions of patient safety culture, the highest rate of positive responses was observed in 'non-punitive response to error' (67.5%), while the lowest rate belonged to 'supervisor/management expectations and actions promoting patient safety' (28%). Moreover, 60% of the participants reported no errors during the past year. The majority of the nurses (63%) described their hospital as acceptable in terms of the patient safety culture. The results of independent t-test were also indicative of a significant correlation between gender as a demographic variable with the patient safety culture (P=0.013).

According to the results, comprehensive assessment of the positive responses of supervisor/management expectations and actions to promote the patient safety is essential. In addition, it is suggested that nursing managers and policy makers recognize the elements involved in the patient safety culture and promote a supportive organizational atmosphere for the reporting of errors in hospitals.