Patient’s safety culture in three hospitals of a sub-network in Bogotá

Abstract

Introduction: Patient’s safety is an important concern for global public health, and at the same time it is relevant due to its effects in the patient.

Objective: Determine the patient’s safety culture in hospitals of a sub-network in Bogotá, Colombia.

Methods: Quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study. With previous informed consent, it was applied a questionnaire of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in Spanish, to 385 members of the health staff if the sub-network whom have direct contact with the patients.  Those with less than 3 months of work in the institution were excluded. Data was analyzed according to the guide of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Results: ´´Organizational learning – continuous improvement´´ was the dimension with a higher percentage of positive answers (69%), followed by ´´ work within the units´´ (65%). The smallest number of positive answers was obtained in the dimensions called ´´ personal availability´´ and ´´no punitive answer to errors´´, both with 31% of positive answers. The percentage of events informed by the respondents in the last year were: none (52%), 1 to 2 (29%), 3 to 5 (13%), 6 or more (7%). 52% considered the degree of safety as excellent or very well, 40% as acceptable and 8% as poor or bad.

Conclusions: There is a culture of ´´continuous improvement´´ that tends to represent strength of the patient’s safety culture, as well as the work within the units. In addition, the subjects related to personnel and punitive culture facing errors require a special attention.