Patient Safety Perception Within Hospitals: An Examination of Job Type, Handoffs and Information Exchange, and Hospital Management Support

Abstract

Objectives The study has 3 aims: (1) to assess to what extent a person’s job role relates to their evaluation of patient safety in the hospital setting; 2) to identify the relationship from hospital management aspects, including level of organizational learning–continuous improvement, level of management support, and level of leader support to patient safety perception in the hospital setting; and 3) to examine the relationship between the rating of the ease of information exchange and clinical handoffs and perceived patient safety in the hospital setting. Methods This study used a publicly available, deidentified cross-sectional data set from the 2021 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Survey on Patient Safety Culture Hospital Survey 2.0. Welch’s analysis of variance and multiple linear regression were used to examine each factor’s impact on patient safety rating. Results Supervisors had a higher (P < 0.001) patient safety perception than people in other job types, whereas nurses had a lower (P < 0.001) patient safety perception than other job types. Level of organizational learning–continuous improvement (P < 0.001), level of hospital management (P < 0.001), level of leader support (P < 0.001), and ease of handoffs and information exchange (P < 0.001) were positively related to perceived patient safety. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of identifying the unique issues affecting nurses and supervisors, different from other job types, that may explain their lower patient safety ratings. Findings from this study suggest that it is critical for organizations to focus on initiatives and policies that promote leadership, management, ease in information exchange and handoffs, and continuous learning.