Staff Attitude towards Patient Safety Culture and Working Environment in St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College Pediatrics Department

Abstract

Abstract Background: There are significant numbers of patients dying for medical and medication errors each year. Staff attitude towards patient safety culture plays main role in preventing these errors. Working environment also contributes to the safety of the patients. Despite these facts there are little published research evaluating attitudes towards patient safety culture and working conditions in Ethiopia. Objectives: The study aims to assess staff attitude towards patient safety culture and working environment in St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College Pediatrics department, a referral hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: Institution based cross- sectional descriptive and analytical study design was used to assess staff attitude towards patient safety culture and working environment in St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College Pediatrics department. A standardized Hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSoPSC) was used to conduct the research from March to August 2022. Results: A total of 175 health professionals responded with response rate of 76%. Overall, the mean positive response rate for the 12 patient safety culture dimensions of the HSOPSC survey was 13.78%. The percentage of positive responses was highest for ‘Teamwork within units’ (37.1%), ‘Non punitive response to error’ (37.1%), ‘Hospital handoffs and transitions’ (33.1%) and ‘Organizational learning – continuous improvement’ (32.6%) and lowest for ‘Staffing’ (0.6%) and ‘Overall perception of safety’ (0.6%). Conclusion: Majority of the staffs working in SPHMMC, pediatrics department have negative attitude towards patient safety culture of the department. The study high point that safety culture is yet to be fully developed, as there are several areas for improvement including error reporting, response to errors, communication, and leadership across hospital units. Key Words: Patient safety culture, working environment, medical error