Patient safety culture in university hospital's emergency departments: A case study.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Improving patient safety culture in healthcare organization is the first step in reducing medical errors and improving patient safety. The aim of the study was to determine and to compare patient safety culture dimensions in emergency departments of selected educational hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. METHODS: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2018 in the emergency departments Shahid Bahonar, Afzalipour, Shahid Beheshti, and Shafa hospitals. Data collection was carried using the Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Culture questionnaire which includes 42 questions and 12 dimensions. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. RESULTS: The highest and lowest mean related to the organizational learning (3.96 ± 0.34) and handoffs and transitions (2.27 ± 0.55). According to independent t test, there was a significant relationship between nurse's gender and patient safety culture. Also, according to analysis of variance test, there was a significant relationship between work experience and patient safety culture. CONCLUSIONS: The situation of patient safety culture was average at a moderate level. Development of reporting system and encouraging staff to report errors and adjusting nursing number and workload is suggested.