SAFETY ATTITUDES OF NURSES IN HOSPITAL X: A BASIS FOR PATIENT SAFETY TRAINING DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Abstract

The rise in the number of patient safety incidents in healthcare has led to give importance to patient safety culture. To deal with the situation, it is imperative to know more about health care professionals’ attitudes regarding patient safety. This descriptive quantitative study identified the safety attitudes of nurses in Hospital X in relation to the six dimensions of patient safety namely: teamwork climate, safety climate, job satisfaction, stress recognition, nurses’ perception of management and working condition. It tried to determine if there would be a difference in safety attitude when respondents were grouped according to profile. Based on the results, a training development plan is proposed. This study utilized a modified and adapted 36- item validated Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) that assessed the safety attitudes across the six domains of patient safety. The SAQ was distributed to 231 staff nurses from twenty three (23) in-patient and out-patient nursing departments through meeting administration and hand delivery. The nurses’ safety attitudes showed a neutral response toward patient safety. The highest positive safety attitudes were in the domain of teamwork climate, while stress recognition had the least. Most of the study variables, such as age, area of specialty and years in the specialty, did not have any impact on the safety attitudes of nurses. On the other hand, some variables, such as gender and marital status, were found to significantly influence the safety attitudes of nurses toward patient safety with female and unmarried nurses showing more positive safety attitudes. The study revealed that the safety attitudes of nurses across the six dimensions of patient safety were rated neutral. This implies the need to improve provision of safe and quality care to clients and patients. The challenge to hospital x is the formation of a patient safety team which will initiate and integrate the training development plan.