Nurses Perception of Patient Safety Culture in Operating Rooms

Operating room (OR) is a specialized area of hospital with inherent multiple risks and hazards to both patients and staff. There are an estimated 200 million surgeries performed worldwide each year. Recent reports reveal that the adverse event rates for surgical conditions remain unacceptably high, despite wide spread patient safety initiatives over the past decade. Each year 7 million surgical patients are estimated to suffer from serious complications from adverse events and up to 1 million die. Evidences in the field of health care quality shows that nurturing a culture of safety can reduce adverse events and improve patient safety. The aim of the present study was to explore the perception of patient safety culture among nurses working in operating rooms. The study utilized a quantitative cross sectional survey deign using safety attitude questionnaire (SAQ). SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data. The total number of participants in the study was 131. Results revealed that the mean experience of study participants in the present institution was 2.56±1.19 years, while the mean total professional experience was 4.19±4.96 years. The mean overall rating of the OR was 3.43±.785. The total score of the SAQ ranged from 40.90 to 80.56, with a mean 61.44±9.06.The mean score was found to be highest in safety climate while least in stress recognition. Only 4.7% of the study participants perceived a favorable climate for patient safety culture. Years of experience in the current institution was significantly associated with perception towards team work climate and patient safety culture at .05 and at .01 level resp. Years of total professional experience was significantly associated with perceptions of management and stress recognition at .05 level. Years of total professional experience was also significantly associated with safety climate at .01 level. Study recommends interventions to promote working conditions, job satisfaction, team work, communication, and conflict resolution to provide a safe environment for nurses and thereby for patients.