Relationship between adverse events prevalence, patient safety culture and patient safety perception in a single sample of patients: a cross-sectional and correlational study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between adverse events prevalence (AEP), patient safety culture (PSC) and patient safety perception (PSP). DESIGN: Cross-sectional, ex post facto comparative study on a single sample of patients. SETTING: Four medium-high-level hospitals were included in the study-two public and two private from Zulia State in Venezuela. PARTICIPANTS: 556 medical records and patients were studied for the prevalence and PSP study, and 397 of the healthcare providers involved in the care of these patients were surveyed for the PSC study, at two public and two private hospitals. OUTCOME MEASUREMENT: The primary outcome of this study was the association between AEP, PSC and PSP, and according to hospital funding type, private and public. RESULTS: An inverse association was observed between AEP and its severity and Patient Safety Culture Index (rho=-0.8, p=0.5) (95% CI 0.26-0.10) and Patient Safety Perception Index (rho=-0.6, p=0.18) (95% CI 0.10-0.28), which were protective factors for patient safety. No association was identified between PSC and PSP (rho=0.0001). No statistical differences were identified by hospital type (p=0.93) (95% CI 0.70-1.2). CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of the variable correlations studied (AEP, PSC and PSP) within the same sample offers an interesting and useful perspective. In this sample, although no correlation was observed between the three variables as an interacting set, some correlation patterns were observed between pairs of variables that could guide further studies.

Predictors of patient safety culture in hospitals in Venezuela: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: An organization's culture with regard to patient safety is important because it defines the beliefs and practices of the organization, and consequently its efficiency and productivity.Knowing the level of this and the factors that influence or not their dynamic represents a challenge, due to the degree of complexity and specificity of the elements involved.The aim of this study was to analyze predictors of patient safety culture in public and private hospitals and examining the factors that contribute to it, constructing a new and specific theoretical and methodological model.This study was carried out by reviewing medical records, detecting healthcare professionals directly involved in caring (N = 588), for patients in 2 public hospitals and 2 private hospitals in Venezuela (N = 566), conducting an "Analysis of Patient Safety Culture" questionnaire. The results were subsequently analyzed, derived 3 predictors factors and using a Patient Safety Culture Index (PSCI) for specific determination to evaluate patient safety culture level.The analysis showed that all hospitals had a "moderately unfavorable" PSCI (public = 52.96, private = 52.67, sig = 0.90). The PSCI was calculated by assessing the weight of the following factors in the index: occupational factors (factor loading = 32.03), communication factors (factor loading = 11.83), and organizational factors (factor loading = 9.10). Traumatology presented the lowest PSCI of all the care units, falling into the "unfavorable" category (36.48), and Laboratory the highest (70.02) (sig = 0.174), falling into the "moderately favorable" category. When analyzing professional groups, nurses had the highest PSCI, with a "moderately unfavorable" rating (PSCI = 61.1) and medical residents the lowest, falling into the "unfavorable" category (35.2). Adverse event reporting is determined by "management expectations and actions" (sig = 0.048) and "direct interaction with the patient" (sig = 0.049).The use of this theoretical and methodological approach in other contexts may provide a more objective system for identifying more specific needs and factors that influence in patient safety culture, and consequently, opportunities for improvement when constructing a patient safety culture in healthcare institutions. Efforts need to be made to improve safety culture in the hospitals studied, irrespective of whether they are public or private.