Nursing perceptions of patient safety climate in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: This study was undertaken to assess the perception of nurses about patient safety culture and to test whether it is significantly affected by the nurses' position, age, experience and working hours. BACKGROUND: Patient safety has sparked the interest of healthcare mangers, yet there is limited knowledge about the current patient safety culture among nurses in the Gaza Strip. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, administering the Arabic Safety Attitude Questionnaire (Short Form 2006) to 210 nurses in four public general hospitals. RESULTS: Job Satisfaction was the most highly perceived factor affecting patient safety, followed by Perception of Management. Safety culture varied across nursing position, age, work experience and working hours. Nurse Managers had more positive attitudes towards patients than frontline clinicians did. The more experience nurses had, the better their attitudes towards patient safety. Nurses who worked the minimum weekly required hours and who were 35 years and older had better attitudes towards all patient safety dimensions except for Stress Recognition. Nurses with a positive attitude had better collaboration with healthcare professionals than those without a positive attitude. LIMITATION: Generalization is limited, as nurses who worked in private and specialized hospitals were excluded. CONCLUSION: Evaluation of the safety culture is the essential starting point to identify hindrances or drivers for safe patient care. Job Satisfaction, Perception of Management and Teamwork necessitate reinforcement, while Working Conditions, Stress Recognition and Safety Climate require improvement. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY Ensuring job satisfaction through adequate staffing levels, providing incentives and maintaining a collegial environment require both strategic planning and institutional policies at the higher administrative level. Creation of a non-punitive and learning environment, promoting open communication and fostering continuous education should be fundamental aspects of hospital management. A policy of mixing experienced nurses with inexperienced nurses should be considered.