Evidence on the Patient Safety Culture and Nursing Work Environment in Iran

Introduction: Patient safety is a universal concern with numerous gaps requiring research. Nurses are the largest workforce in healthcare system and play a pivotal role in the profitability and patient safety indices in hospitals. The present study aimed to evaluate the perception of nurses toward the patient safety culture and nursing work environment in Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 nurses in Khoy, located in West Azerbaijan, Iran. Data were collected using the hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSPSC), which was completed by the participants during July 1st-30th 2017. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 19. Results: Positive response rate was 7-82% for 42 items in the HSPSC. The highest positive response rate was in the item When one area in the ward becomes very busy, others help out. (82%), whereas the lowest rate was in the item We have enough staff to handle the workload. (7%). In addition, the lowest positive response rate belonged to the dimension of ‘staffing’ (21%), while the highest rate belonged to the dimension of ‘teamwork within units’ (76%). Conclusion: According to the results, nurses had a positive perception toward teamwork. However, they believed that the number of the staff to manage the workload was insufficient and occasionally caused poor interactions among the staff. As an external quality evaluation tool, accreditation could be applied to develop the patient safety culture. Therefore, further investigation is recommended regarding the influence of hospital accreditation on the patient safety culture in Iran.