“Structural Empowerment and Its Effect on the Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture among Mental Health Nurses in Saudi Arabia”

Mental health nurses have a vital job in promoting safety culture because they provide and coordinate most of patients' care. The quality of the workplace is one factor that supports mental health nurses. This study aims to examine the association between structural empowerment and perceptions of patient safety culture among mental health nurses in Saudi Arabia. A descriptive correlational design was utilized at a mental health facility in Saudi Arabia. The study included a sociodemographic information, the nurses' perception of structural empowerment scale, and the patients' safety culture questionnaire. A total of 247 nurses were recruited. Participants reported a moderate level of structural empowerment perceptions (3.45 ± 0.48). Also, the mean score for patient safety culture was 3.24 (± 0.25), indicating the need for improvement. Structural empowerment was found to be positively associated with patient safety culture perceptions and its subscales, except the awareness of patient safety culture within a unit or work area subscale. Understanding nurses' perceptions of structural empowerment can indicate which areas of enablement require focus to improve healthcare outcomes. Our findings can provide nursing managers with information about important aspects of mental health nurses' work environments that support patient safety in mental healthcare settings.