Measuring hospital falls prevention safety climate

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Falls prevention is a critical safety priority in hospital settings.
• Existing safety climate tools do not specifically address falls prevention.
• A need exists for instruments to evaluate the safety climate related to falls prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure the falls prevention safety climate within an Australian metropolitan hospital.
• To adapt and validate items from the Victorian Safety Climate Survey (SCS) for falls prevention assessment.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Victorian Safety Climate Survey (SCS) to assess general safety climate.
• Modified and replicated four SCS items to specifically target the falls prevention safety climate.
• Collected data from 458 hospital staff members.

Main Results:

• The general safety climate scores (six SCS domains) were comparable to statewide data.
• Falls prevention-specific items showed correlation with their original general safety counterparts.
• Staff perceptions of falls prevention climate were less positive than those of general patient safety.

Conclusions:

• The adapted SCS provides a viable method for assessing falls prevention safety climate.
• Identified areas for improvement in falls prevention can guide strategy development.
• Findings support the development of a more comprehensive tool for evaluating falls prevention safety climate.