Instruments for Patient Safety Assessment: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality and Safety
• Health Services Research
• Measurement in Healthcare

Background:

• Patient safety is a critical element of healthcare quality.
• Numerous instruments exist to measure patient safety.
• A comprehensive mapping of these instruments is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically map and review instruments and scales used for assessing patient safety in healthcare services.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review following the JBI methodology was conducted.
• Searches were performed across multiple databases (Embase, Lilacs, MedLine, Scopus) and a thesis repository.
• Eligibility criteria included studies on patient safety assessment instruments, irrespective of language or time period.

Main Results:

• A total of 47 instruments and 71 dimensions for patient safety assessment were identified from 63 studies.
• The most frequently reported dimensions included teamwork, professional satisfaction, safety climate, communication, and working conditions.
• 4019 potential titles were initially screened.

Conclusions:

• The diversity of patient safety instruments underscores its multidimensional nature.
• This heterogeneity, however, presents challenges for benchmarking patient safety across different healthcare institutions.
• Standardization or clear categorization of instruments may be beneficial.