Patient safety in chiropractic teaching programs: a mixed methods study.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety Research
• Chiropractic Education

Background:

• Patient safety research has historically lagged in academic settings, including chiropractic institutions.
• A positive and understanding employee attitude is crucial for developing a robust patient safety culture.
• This study assesses patient safety attitudes among stakeholders in chiropractic teaching clinics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate patient safety attitudes among chiropractic teaching clinic stakeholders.
• To compare survey scores with established medical survey databases.
• To identify areas for improvement in patient safety culture within chiropractic education.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, mixed methods survey design was employed.
• Stakeholders (supervising clinicians, student interns, administrative staff) from 5 international chiropractic programs completed a modified AHRQ survey.
• Quantitative data were compared to benchmarks, and qualitative responses were thematically analyzed.

Main Results:

• The chiropractic survey achieved a 45.3% response rate (n=645).
• Moderate scores (57-85%) were observed across all patient safety dimensions.
• Teamwork, organizational learning, and patient tracking were strong, while communication, training, standardization, and leadership support require improvement.

Conclusions:

• This study is the first to report patient safety attitudes from chiropractic teaching clinic stakeholders.
• Specific areas for improvement in patient safety culture were identified.
• Chiropractic programs should consider integrating patient safety concepts into curricula to enhance care delivery.