Related Experiment Videos
Are patient safety structures associated with safety culture in healthcare facilities?
Introduction And Objectives:
A positive patient safety culture (PSC) promotes transparency, learning from errors, and better outcomes. Patient safety structures (PSE) may play a key role in supporting PSC. This study describes the relationship between PSE and PSC, as perceived by healthcare professionals in Spanish hospitals and primary care centres.
Methods:
A national cross-sectional survey (2024) used the Spanish versions of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture v1 (HSOPS) for hospital care (HC) and the Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture (MOSPS) for primary care (PC), with additional PSE questions. The online survey was sent to a convenience sample of professionals from public and private centres. Data were analysed using SPSS v25.0.
Results:
A total of 5212 HC and 2196 PC professionals responded. Overall perceived PSC was significantly higher among professionals in centres with PSE, increasing with implementation: 28% higher in HC with one or two PSE and 38% with three; 18% and 27%, respectively, in PC. A quality/PS manager, secondary victim support, and a response plan for serious adverse events were associated with higher PSC in both settings (HC: 13.15%, 16.22%, 24.80%; PC: 14.5%, 14%, 23%). In HC, professionals without direct patient contact or outside emergency departments scored higher; in PC, nurses, on-call doctors, professionals with panels >1500 patients, and morning shifts reported higher PSC.
Conclusions:
Greater implementation of PSE was consistently associated with higher PSC across healthcare settings. This supports policies promoting PSE in Spanish healthcare facilities while highlighting the need for further evaluation.