Perception on Patient Safety Culture Among Nurses in a Hospital

Background: Patient Safety Culture is the vital component of quality health care system. World Health Organization defines Patient Safety as the prevention of errors and adverse effects to patients related to health care. It has been clarified that patient harm is the 14th leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Nurses, being the primary point of contact, play a vital role in patient safety culture. Thus, this study assessed the Patient Safety Culture among the nurses in hospital. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the 92 nurses from different departments/units/wards at Manmohan Memorial Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu. Probability Proportionate to Size sampling technique to select the sample was used. The Self-administered Standard Tool by Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) named Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) version 2.0 (2019), and self-developed semi-structured were used as research instruments. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 23.0 using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings: Out of 92 nurses, more than half (56.5%) nurses responded with a positive perception in Patient Safety Culture. Most of the respondents responded Communication about error domain (72.8%) whereas Handoffs and Information Exchange ranked as least scored domain (43.2%). However, this study shows no significant association between selected independent variables. Conclusion: More than half of the nurses have positive perception on Patient safety Culture in Hospital. Whereas, nearly half have negative perception towards Patient Safety Culture. Hence, there is a need to conduct in-service education for nurses regarding patient safety culture in hospital. Key words: Patient Safety, Patient Safety Culture, Nurses