The relationship between patient safety culture and attitudes toward incident reporting among registered nurses

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Patient safety is a primary concern in healthcare due to errors and low incident reporting rates. A strong safety culture and positive attitudes towards reporting are crucial for improving patient safety culture (PSC). Overcoming barriers and conducting research can enhance incident reporting, foster a safety culture, and improve patient outcomes. AIM: To investigate the relationship between patient safety culture and attitudes toward incident reporting among Jordanian nurses. METHODOLOGY: This study employed a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design. A convenient sample of 307 registered staff nurses from Jordanian hospitals across different sectors was selected. Validated and translated questionnaires, which included the Incident Reporting Culture Questionnaire and the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, were used for data collection. Statistical analyses, such as descriptive and inferential statistics (including Pearson correlation, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, and hierarchical regression analysis), were employed to address research questions using SPSS version 26. RESULTS: The findings revealed that the Patient Safety Culture (PSC) organizational learning dimension had the highest positive response rate (70.6%), while the hands-off and transition dimension had the lowest score (24.9%). Approximately 43.6% of participants reported no events in the last 12 months, whereas only 4.2% reported experiencing 12 or more events. The overall perception of patient safety was rated as 'very good' by 55.7% of the participants. The results from the Incident Reporting Culture Questionnaire (IRCQ) indicated a moderate overall willingness among nurses to report incidents, along with positive attitudes toward implementing lessons learned from errors and offering feedback on incident reports. Significant differences in attitudes toward incident reporting were observed based on the type of hospital (p = 0.037) and working hours (p = 0.012). Moreover, significant correlations were found between Patient Safety Culture dimensions and Incident Reporting Culture Questionnaire dimensions. The most robust positive correlation was observed between the feedback and communication about errors dimension in Patient Safety Culture and the learning from errors dimension in Incident Reporting Culture Questionnaire (r = 0.401, p = 0.000). Through hierarchical multiple regression analysis, it was demonstrated that Patient Safety Culture significantly predicted attitudes toward incident reporting (β = 0.441, p < 0.001), while controlling for demographic variables. CONCLUSION: This study discovered a positive correlation between patient safety culture and attitudes toward incident reporting among Jordanian nurses. Enhancing patient safety culture and adopting non-punitive measures can effectively improve incident reporting behavior within healthcare settings.

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