Nurses' perceptions of patient safety culture in Jordanian hospitals

Patients' safety culture is a key aspect in determining healthcare organizations' ability to address and reduce risks of patients. Nurses play a major role in patients' safety because they are accountable for direct and continuous patient care. There is little known information about patients' safety culture in Jordanian hospitals, particularly from the perspective of healthcare providers.

The study aimed to assess patient safety culture in Jordanian hospitals from nurses' perspective.

A cross-sectional, descriptive design was utilized. A total number of 658 nurses participated in the current study. Data were collected using an Arabic version of the hospital survey of patients' safety culture.

Teamwork within unit dimensions had a high positive response, and was perceived by nurses to be the only strong suit in Jordanian hospitals. Areas that required improvement, as perceived by nurses, are as follows: communication openness, staffing, handoff and transition, non-punitive responses to errors, and teamwork across units. Regression analysis revealed factors, from nurses' perspectives, that influenced patients' safety culture in Jordanian hospital. Factors included age, total years of experience, working in university hospitals, utilizing evidence-based practice and working in hospitals that consider patient safety to be a priority.

Participants in this study were limited to nurses. Therefore, there is a need to assess patient safety culture from other healthcare providers' perspectives. Moreover, the use of a self-reported questionnaire introduced the social desirability biases.

The current study provides insight into how nurses perceive patient safety culture. Results of this study have revealed that there is a need to replace the traditional culture of shame/blame with a non-punitive culture.

Study results implied that improving patient safety culture requires a fundamental transformation of nurses' work environment. New policies to improve collaboration between units of hospitals would improve patients' safety.