Hospital work environments affect the patient safety climate: A longitudinal follow-up using a logistic regression analysis model

Authors

Kirsten Brubakk, University of Oslo
Martin Veel Svendsen, Telemark Hospital Trust
Ellen Tveter Deilkås, Akershus University Hospital
Dag Hofoss, National Institute of Public Health
Paul Barach, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Ole Tjomsland, South Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-15-2021

Comments

This article is the author’s final published version in PLoS ONE, Volume 16, Issue 10, October 2021, Article number e0258471.

The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258471. Copyright © Brubakk et al.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Occupational worker wellness and safety climate are key determinants of healthcare organizations' ability to reduce medical harm to patients while supporting their employees. We designed a longitudinal study to evaluate the association between work environment characteristics and the patient safety climate in hospital units.

METHODS: Primary data were collected from Norwegian hospital staff from 970 clinical units in all 21 hospitals of the South-Eastern Norway Health Region using the validated Norwegian Work Environment Survey and the Norwegian version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. Responses from 91,225 surveys were collected over a three year period. We calculated the factor mean score and a binary outcome to measure study outcomes. The relationship between the hospital unit characteristics and the observed changes in the safety climate was analyzed by linear and logistic regression models.

RESULTS: A work environment conducive to safe incident reporting, innovation, and teamwork was found to be significant for positive changes in the safety climate. In addition, a work environment supportive of patient needs and staff commitment to their workplace was significant for maintaining a mature safety climate over time.

CONCLUSIONS: A supportive work environment is essential for patient safety. The characteristics of the hospital units were significantly associated with the unit's safety climate scores, hence improvements in working conditions are needed for enhancing patient safety.

Recommended Citation

Brubakk, Kirsten; Svendsen, Martin Veel; Deilkås, Ellen Tveter; Hofoss, Dag; Barach, Paul; and Tjomsland, Ole, "Hospital work environments affect the patient safety climate: A longitudinal follow-up using a logistic regression analysis model" (2021). College of Population Health Faculty Papers. Paper 131.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/healthpolicyfaculty/131

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Language

English