[Safety culture assessment in a university pulmonary medicine department]

Abstract

Introduction: Improvement in treatment safety is a major issue in Western healthcare systems, with the aim of reducing the number of treatment associated undesirable events. The safety culture, defined as an integrated and coherent collection of individual and organizational behavior that seeks continuously to reduce harm to patients, possibly related to treatment, could fulfill this aim.

Methods: We have used an adaption of the American "Hospital Survey on Patient Safety" questionnaire (HSOPSC), which examines professionals' perception of treatment safety, to assess the safety culture in our respiratory medicine service in the Strasbourg University Hospital.

Results: Of the 110 questionnaires distributed to the service personnel, 93 were returned (85 %). The level of treatment safety was judged "acceptable" for 56 % of the personnel, "very good" for 32 %, against "weak" or "failing" for 10 %. Of the 10 dimensions explored, 8 were considered to need improvement and 2 had a level of positive responses greater than 50 %.

Conclusions: Treatment safety culture seems to be an area to develop in our service. A strong safety culture should allow health care professionals to adhere better to treatment safety mechanisms.

Keywords: Culture de sécurité; Safety culture; Safety of treatment; Sécurité des soins; Undesirable events related to treatment; Évènements indésirables liés aux soins.