A national study of patient safety culture in hospitals in Bulgaria

Abstract

Introduction Patient safety culture (PSC) is an essential component of the care quality. An important contribution to the evaluation of hospital culture and the enhancement of PSC is the HSOPSC questionnaire elaborated by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) [1]. The questionnaire displays reliable psychometric characteristics and has been validated in more than 20 countries. Objective This study aimed to assess the patient safety culture among hospital staff using the Bulgarian version of Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (B-HSOPSC) and explore the areas of deficiencies and opportunities for improvement regarding this issue. Methods A national cross-sectional survey was conducted using a special developed Internet-based software platform. The questionnaire for assessment of Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) includes 42 questions, organized in 12 domains. To the Bulgarian version of BHSOPSC two new items were added [2]. In total, 545 healthcare professionals from hospitals in different regions of Bulgaria were enrolled. The data were exported to SPSS 17.0 statistical software and analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results In general, results show positive assessments of patient safety culture, regardless of few of exceptions. The dimensions "Handoffs and transitions" and „Supervisor/manager expectations and actions promoting safety " showed the highest mean values, respectively 3.76+0.79 and 3.64+0.79, whereas the "Staffing" and "Non-punitive response to error" have received the lowest mean values, respectively 2.79+0.60 and 2.99+0.89. Conclusion For the first time in Bulgaria, with the aid of a web-based platform to report adverse events and errors in medical practice, the level of hospital patient safety was measured. Special attention should be paid to the staff turnover in hospital, as well as the introduction of a patient safety reporting system in our country. References 1. Sorra JS, Nieva VF. Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2004. [Accessed January 23,2020]. 2. Stoyanova, R., Dimova, R., Tarnovska, M., & Boeva, T. (2018). Linguistic validation and cultural adaptation of Bulgarian version of hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPSC). Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences, 6(5):925-930.