PATIENT SAFETY CULTURE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF NURSES

Abstract

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to describe attitudes and the culture of safety from the perspective of nurses. Eighty-three nurses participated in the study and answered the questionnaire “Safety Attitudes Questionnaire – Short Form 2006”, which was translated into Portuguese. Data collection was carried out between April and May 2015 in a hospital located in Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil. The mean score was 66, and varied between 54.8 for ‘Perception of management’ to 78.3 for ‘Job satisfaction’. A positive perception of the safety culture was shown by scores of >75 points in average only for ‘Job satisfaction’. Most participants (89%) agree that mistakes are dealt with appropriately. Five of the six fields assessed obtained negative scores, which showed the need for planning and developing strategies oriented toward an effective culture of patient safety.

Keywords

• Quality of health care
• Patient safety
• Health services evaluation
• Nursing
• Organizational culture