Healthcare Managers’ Perception on Patient Safety Culture

Abstract

Introduction: This paper takes a detailed look at safety culture, different roles, and powers shared by managers, lessons from which can be applied in any form of management. It also focuses on the job of managers in enhancing safety standards in a health institution. The objective of this paper was to examine the managers’ perception of patient safety culture. Methods: This study followed a quantitative cross-sectional design. The research procedure involved all middle-level managers in Aseer Central Hospital in Abha, Saudi Arabia (N = 52). To assess the status of patient safety culture and the role of healthcare managers in the field study, the researchers constructed a study questionnaire; it included questions adapted and modified from the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire, the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire, the 10 Mintzberg managerial roles and the six types of power for healthcare managers. Results: Most participants were Saudi nationals (73.1%) aged 31 to 40 years (44.2%). The managerial role practiced frequently was leadership (85%), but the least managerial role was the figurehead (23%). Mangers held positive attitudes toward patient safety culture with 100% positive replies. No significant association was found between sex, nationality, years of experience, and professions concerning patient safety. Additionally, the results indicated that most managers were willing to uphold a safe environment for their patients and ready to involve employees in decision-making strategies to motivate them. Conclusion: The managerial choices in Aseer Central Hospital are based on the culture and tradition of the community, which might negatively undermine the capability of other individuals handling the same office based on their educational backgrounds and competency. Such situations also may demoralize the employees, leading to poor employee performance Suboptimal achievement was exhibited primarily by middle-level healthcare managers of all six power types: resource allocator, negotiator, liaison, spokesperson, figurehead, and entrepreneur. Therefore, there is a pressing need to improve managers’ attitudes toward patient safety and activate managerial roles to ensure patients’ safety is practiced unequivocally.

Keywords

• patient safety
• healthcare managers
• safety attitudes questionnaire
• hospital survey on patient safety culture questionnaire
• mintzberg managerial roles
• power for healthcare managers