Exploring Patient Safety Culture in a Kuwaiti Secondary Care Setting: A qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety Research
• Qualitative Health Research

Background:

• Patient safety culture (PSC) is crucial for quality healthcare but under-researched in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
• Qualitative research offers deep insights into complex healthcare environments and stakeholder perceptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore healthcare staff and patients' perceptions of PSC in Kuwait.
• To identify factors influencing PSC and suggest avenues for improvement.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative study conducted in a public hospital in Kuwait.
• Individual face-to-face interviews with 35 healthcare professionals and 16 patients.
• Inductive thematic analysis of recorded and transcribed interviews.

Main Results:

• Four key themes emerged: workload, communication, environmental constraints, and incident reporting.
• These factors were interconnected and negatively impacted PSC.
• Differing views were noted between Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti participants regarding error response and staff competency.

Conclusions:

• Workload, communication, environmental factors, and incident reporting significantly impede positive PSC in the studied department.
• A multi-level intervention strategy targeting both individual and organizational aspects is necessary to enhance PSC.