Evaluating the effect of safety culture on error reporting: a comparison of managerial and staff perspectives.

Although medical error reporting has been studied, underreporting remains pervasive. The study aims were to identify the organizational factors with the greatest perceived effect on error reporting and to determine whether associations differ for management and clinical staff. A total of 515 637 respondents from 1052 hospitals completed the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Nine organizational factors were tested as predictors of error reporting using weighted least-squares multiple regression. Error feedback was perceived as the most significant predictor, while organizational learning was another significant factor. It also was found that although management support for patient safety was significantly related to error reporting among clinical staff, this association was not significant among management. This difference is relevant because managers may not be aware that their failure to demonstrate support for safety leads to underreporting by frontline clinical staff. Findings from this study can inform hospitals' efforts to increase error reporting.