Exploring the Influence of Nurse Work Environment and Patient Safety Culture on Attitudes Toward Incident Reporting

The aim of this study was to explore the influence of nurse work environments and patient safety culture on attitudes toward incident reporting.

Patient safety culture had been known as a factor of incident reporting by nurses. Positive work environment could be an important influencing factor for the safety behavior of nurses.

A cross-sectional survey design was used. The structured questionnaire was administered to 191 nurses working at a tertiary university hospital in South Korea.

Nurses' perception of work environment and patient safety culture were positively correlated with attitudes toward incident reporting. A regression model with clinical career, work area and nurse work environment, and patient safety culture against attitudes toward incident reporting was statistically significant. The model explained approximately 50.7% of attitudes toward incident reporting.

Improving nurses' attitudes toward incident reporting can be achieved with a broad approach that includes improvements in work environment and patient safety culture.