The relationship between nurses' perception of patient safety culture and self-report of adverse events in teaching hospitals in Isfahan

In many countries, patient safety culture is a strategy to reduce medical errors. However, there is still not adequate evidence about the effectiveness of this strategy, and few studies have addressed it in Iran. This study aimed to examine the relationship between nurses' perception of patient safety culture and adverse events.

This descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020-2021 on 425 nurses from different departments in Isfahan teaching hospitals. The nurses were selected through random convenience sampling. The 42-item Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) was used to evaluate nurses' perceptions of patient safety culture. Besides, the frequency of six adverse events that often occur in the hospital was evaluated by self-report data. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression in SPSS22 software.

The mean score of patient safety culture from the nurses' perspective was 3.04±0.28 out of 5. Continuous improvement of organizational learning (3.48±0.67) was identified as one of the organization's strengths. Moreover, handoffs and transitions (2.52±0.71) needed improvement as one of the weaknesses. The logistic regression analysis results showed that patient safety culture has a significant relationship with adverse events, and the incidence of adverse events decreases with the improvement in patient safety culture (p<0.001).

Hospitals can improve the quality of services provided by focusing on the strengths and resolving the weaknesses of patient safety culture, and also by improving communication and handoffs and transitions, and providing a safe environment for patients. The findings of the study highlighted the need to pay more attention to the promotion of the patient safety culture to prevent the occurrence of adverse events.