Interprofessional collaboration mediates the relationship between perceived organizational learning and safety climate in hospitals: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Organizational learning (OL) and interprofessional collaboration (IPC) are said to enhance medical safety in hospitals, but the relationship between these variables has not been quantitatively tested. OBJECTIVE: This study examines the mediating effects of IPC on the relationship between OL and safety climate (improvement, compliance, and patient/family involvement). METHODS: An anonymous self-reporting questionnaire was administered to 1,495 healthcare workers from November 2021 to January 2022. The questions regarded the hospital’s safety climate, OL, and IPC. A mediation analysis using structural equation modeling was conducted to examine the mediating role of IPC on the relationship between OL and the three safety climates. The indirect effect was estimated using 2,000 bootstrap samples. RESULTS: Responses from 643 healthcare workers were analyzed. The direct effects of OL were 𝛽 = .74, 75 (p < .001) on improvement and involvement and 𝛽 = 0.1 (p > .05) on compliance. The indirect effects of IPC on improvement and involvement were 𝛽 = .14 (95%CI: .00 ∼ .06) and 𝛽 = .37 (95%CI: .04 ∼ .09), respectively. CONCLUSION: This study determined the mechanisms that enhance a hospital’s safety climate, demonstrating that IPC mediates the relationship between OL and improvement and patient/family involvement. However, OL and IPC are not related to compliance.