How to Improve Patient Safety Culture in Croatian Hospitals?

• Published in: Acta clinica Croatica (Tisak) Vol. 55; no. 3; pp. 370 - 380
• Main Authors: Šklebar, Ivan, Mustajbegović, Jadranka, Šklebar, Duška, Cesarik, Marijan, Milošević, Milan, Brborović, Hana, Šporčić, Krunoslav, Petrić, Petar, Husedžinović, Ino
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Croatia Klinicki bolnicki centar Sestre milosrdnice 01.09.2016; Sestre Milosrdnice University hospital, Institute of Clinical Medical Research
• Subjects: Analysis; Attitude of Health Personnel; Croatia; Health aspects; Hospitals; Hospitals - standards; Humans; Medical care quality; Organizational Culture; Organizational Innovation; Patient care; Patient Safety - standards; Patients; Quality of health care; Safety and security measures; Safety Management - standards; Social problems; Surveys and Questionnaires; Croatia; Surveys and questionnaires; Hospitals; Social problems; Organizational culture; Quality of health care; Patient safety – standards; Benchmarking; Croatia
• ISSN: 0353-9466; 1333-9451
• DOI: 10.20471/acc.2016.55.03.04

Patient safety culture (PCS) has a crucial impact on the safety practices of healthcare delivery systems. The purpose of this study was to assess the state of PSC in Croatian hospitals and compare it with hospitals in the United States. The study was conducted in three public general hospitals in Croatia using the Croatian translation of the Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC). A comparison of the results from Croatian and American hospitals was performed using a T-square test. We found statistically significant differences in all 12 PSC dimensions. Croatian responses were more positive in the two dimensions of Handoff s and Transitions and Overall Perceptions of Patient Safety. In the remaining ten dimensions, Croatian responses were less positive than in US hospitals, with the most prominent areas being Nonpunitive Response to Error, Frequency of Events Reported, Communication Openness, Teamwork within Units, Feedback & Communication about Error, Management Support for Patient Safety, and Staffing. Our findings show that PSC is significantly lower in Croatian than in American hospitals, particularly in the areas of Nonpunitive Response to Error, Leadership, Teamwork, Communication Openness and Staffing. This suggests that a more comprehensive system for the improvement of patient safety within the framework of the Croatian healthcare system needs to be developed. Our findings also help confirm that HSOPSC is a useful and appropriate tool for the assessment of PSC. HSOPSC highlights the PSC components in need of improvement and should be considered for use in national and international benchmarking.