Safety Climate Assessment in Operating Room Nurses Through Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ)

Abstract

Introduction: Surgical safety is a public health concern worldwide. The attitudes and perceptions of the surgical team regarding to the safety of the patient are associated to the safety climate and the prevalence of adverse events. Objective: To evaluate the safety climate perceived by operating room nurses from several Hospitals. Method: This works presents a multicentre cross-sectional study. Data collection was obtained by means of The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), a self-completed questionnaire translated to the Spanish. A convenience sample with voluntary participation was selected. The safety climate was determined through six factors: Teamwork climate, Safety climate, Job satisfaction, Perception of the Unit and Hospital Management, Working conditions and Stress recognition. Results: safety climate perceived by surgical nurses shows mixed values in relation to patient safety. Perception of the management (p = 0.001)and Working condition domain (p = 0.003) are the domains worst valued. The size of the hospitals and Years of professional experience showed statistical differences in several domains. Conclusions: The variation of the safety climate perceived by nurses suggests that there are needs and opportunities for improvement in all its dimensions.