Translation of the agency for health care research and quality nursing home survey on patient safety for Swedish conditions

Patient safety culture is a critical component of health care quality in nursing homes. Surveys on patient safety culture can be helpful tools to evaluate care. The aims of the study were to translate a survey on patient safety culture, namely, the Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture (NHSOPS 1.0) from English into Swedish and to adapt it to Swedish conditions and to validate the translation. The survey was translated into Swedish following the TRAPD translation process -translate, review, adjudicate, pre-test, and document, as suggested by the provider of the original survey. The validity of the items was measured by Cronbach's alpha. Some changes in wording were made according to Swedish conditions. A pre-test with staff working in nursing homes showed adequate results for the translation. In this pilot study, all items and questions were considered valuable for measuring patient safety and were therefore retained in the Swedish version. The translated survey may be a helpful tool for measuring patient safety in nursing homes and prompting staff to reflect on their workplaces.