A Cross Sectional Study of Patient Safety Attitude among Nurses Working in Teaching Hospitals in Klang Valley, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Nurses are one of the most important personnel that plays a major role in ensuring safe and high-quality care to the patients. Their attitudes toward patient safety could affect the patient experience in the hospital setting. Contrasting evidence in the previous study on the relationship between duration of working experience with the attitude toward patient safety warranted further exploration in the current pandemic era. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of attitude towards patient safety and other associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving nurses from selected teaching hospitals in Klang Valley, Malaysia during the Covid-19 pandemic period. Data was collected using validated online Safety Attitude Questionnaires (SAQ). The target group was nurses in charge of general medical and surgical wards and was conveniently sampled. A total of 152 nurses participated and had working experience of more than 2 years (93.4%). The majority of positive responses were observed in 4 domains which were the teamwork climate, safety climate, job satisfaction, and stress recognition. The highest positive responses were found for the safety climate domain. In terms of negative responses, it was observed to be highest in the preparation of the unit management domain. However, there was no significant association between any domains with age group, gender, or working experience. In conclusion, the perception of the nurses toward patient safety attitude might be influenced by the managerial style, geographical work setting, and different job scopes. The leaders in a healthcare facility or service delivery should consider focusing on a strategy to ensure adequate management support for the medical personnel that might influence their attitude to patient safety culture in the future.Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.