Survey of factors associated with nurses' perception of patient safety.

OBJECTIVE To describe the nurses' perception of hospital organization related to cultural issues on the safety of the patient and reporting medical errors. In addition, to identify factors associated with the safety of the patient and the nurse. METHODS A survey conducted during December 2008-Jannuary 2009, with 126 nurses using the Korean version of the AHRQ patient safety survey, a self-report 5-point Likert scale. Stata 10.0 was used for descriptive analysis, ANOVA (Analysis of variance) and logistic regression. SETTING National Cancer Center in Korea. RESULTS The means for a working environment related to patient safety was 3.4 (±0.62). The associated factors of duration were at a present hospital, a special area, and direct contact with patients. Among organizational culture factors related to patient safety, the means were 3.81(±0.54) for the boss/manager's perception of patient safety and 3.37(±0.49) for the cooperation/collaboration between units. The frequent number of errors reported by nurses were 1~2(22.2%) times over the past 12 months. For incidence reporting, the items that the 'nurses perceived for communication among clinicians as fair' had a means of 3.23(±0.40) and the 'overall evaluation of patient safety was a good' 3.34(±0.73). CONCLUSIONS The nurses' perception of cooperation and collaboration between units were associated with the direct contact between the patient and the nurse. The frequency of incidence reporting was associated with the duration of working hours at the present hospital and also their work experience. The nurses' perception of hospital environment, organizational culture, and incidence reporting was above average and mostly associated with organizational culture.