Assessment of Nurses Viewpoints on Patient Safety Culture in Amol Hospitals in Iran, 2012

Background and Objectives: Patient safety is the most vital indicator of hospital management. Ignorance of the patient safety may lead to an increase in hospital mortality rates due to medical errors. Multiple studies have pointed out that there is a positive association between patient safety culture with reduction of medical errors and improvement in healthcare outcomes. This study was conducted in order to evaluate patient safety culture in hospitals of Amol city in Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was carried out among 530 non-physician- healthcare staff selected from three hospitals of Amol city. The instrument of this study was Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture Questionnaire (HSPSCQ) the items of which measure twelve dimensions of patient safety culture. All statistical analysis was performed in the SPSS-16. Results: Among twelve patient safety culture dimensions, the lowest positive responses included: dimensions of staffing (22%), non- punitive policy concerning medical errors (25%), and frequency of adverse event reporting (33%). Conclusion: The staffing, non-punitive policy and frequency of adverse events of patient safety culture aspects were assessed as less desired by nurses. Providing adequate staff and appropriate work hours, and developing the culture of voluntary adverse events and non-punitive policy can help to improve patient safety culture.