Patient safety climate in vaccination rooms from the perspective of vaccinators in Minas Gerais, Brazil: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Vaccination is one of the main strategies for preventing vaccine-preventable diseases. However, given the high occurrence of immunization errors worldwide and the scarcity of studies on the patient safety climate in these services, it is essential to understand vaccinators’ perceptions of the safety climate. This study aimed to analyze the patient safety climate and associated factors as perceived by nursing professionals working in public vaccination rooms in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods This was a cross-sectional analytical epidemiological study conducted in vaccination rooms across 93 municipalities in Minas Gerais, Brazil, selected through cluster sampling according to population size, with a 95% confidence interval. Nursing professionals directly involved in vaccination rooms participated in the study. Data were collected using the Brazilian validated version of the SAQ – Short Form, administered through a self-completed electronic questionnaire. The data were subjected to descriptive and inferential analysis, including nonparametric tests, correlations, and logistic regression to identify factors associated with the patient safety climate, adopting a 5% significance level. Results A total of 647 professionals working in municipalities of different population sizes participated in the study, most of whom were nursing technicians/assistants and female. The SAQ – Short Form assessment indicated a positive safety climate, with a mean score close to the cutoff point (78.1). The domains of Job Satisfaction and Teamwork Climate received the highest scores, whereas Management Perception and Stress Recognition showed lower scores, revealing weakness. Greater professional satisfaction was observed among nursing assistants/technicians, and better assessments of working conditions were reported by professionals holding commissioned positions. Factors such as sex, age, professional position, highest academic degree, and length of professional experience were associated with the safety climate, with no relevant associations identified with municipal characteristics. Length of experience in nursing, primary health care, and vaccination rooms was associated with the domains of Job Satisfaction (p < 0.001), Management Perception (p < 0.001), and the total SAQ score (p = 0.009). Conclusions The safety climate in vaccination rooms was generally positive, although weaknesses in management perception and stress recognition highlight the need to improve institutional support, workload management, communication, and nonpunitive responses to errors.