The Effect of Individual and Organizational Variables on Patient Safety Culture (PSC): A Case Study on Nurses

Background & Aims of the Study: The purpose of the hospital accreditation program is to improve the patientsʹ safety. Prevention of mistakes in medical procedures, patientsʹ safety risk identification and infection prevention besides the patientsʹ safety culture (PSC) are the key factors that must be considered in a successful patientsʹ safety program.This study aimed to assess PSC and its association with demographic factors among nurses of a hospital in Qom, Iran. Materials & Methods: This research as a descriptive-analytical andcross-sectional study on the effect of individual and organizational variables on patientsʹ safety culture among nurses was conducted in 2015. The final sample included 106 employees from one of the hospitals located in Qom province of Iran. The questionnaires consisted demographic questions and a valid questionnaire about patientsʹ safety culture. T-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation were conducted to analyze the data by SPSS V20. Results:The age of nurses was 35.15±10.33 (Mean±SD) years. Results showed that the patientsʹ safety climate scoreamongnurseswas 70.15±7.23. In addition, there are significant differences between groups of work shift and also education levels in the viewpoints of patientsʹ safety (p<0.05); but, other variables were not different (P>0.05). Conclusions: Although, based on our finding,considered hospital had a suitable situation of patientsʹ safety culture, but it is important to pay attention to continuous improvement in the scope of health care workers and patient safety to achieve criticalmission and visions of organizing. Job selection on the basis of demographic considerations and implementation of an accreditation plan for health care systems are two examples of how occupational safety and health tools can be used to provide quality improvement information for health care organizations such as hospitals.