Instruments for Patient Safety Assessment: A Scoping Review

Patient safety is an important component of healthcare service quality, and there are numerous instruments in the literature that measure patient safety. This scoping reviewaims to map the instruments/scales for assessing patient safety in healthcare services.

This scoping review follows the JBI methodology. The protocol was registered on the Open Science Framework. Eligibility criteria were defined based on studies that include instruments or scales for assessing patient safety in healthcare services, in any language, and without temporal restrictions. It adhered to all scoping review checklist items [PRISMA-ScR], with searches in the Embase, Lilacs, MedLine, and Scopus databases, as well as the repository of the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. Two independent reviewers performed selection and data extraction in July 2023.

Of the 4019 potential titles, 63 studies reported on a total of 47 instruments/scales and 71 dimensions for patient safety assessment. The most-described dimensions were teamwork, professional satisfaction, safety climate, communication, and working conditions.

The diversity of instruments and dimensions for patient safety assessment characterizes the multidimensionality and scope of patient safety. However, it hinders benchmarking between institutions and healthcare units.