Patient safety climate perceived in three hospital’s clinical analysis laboratories. Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Patient safety has been identified by the World Health Organization as a priority aspect in health care. Clinical analysis laboratories are no stranger to this concept, and the information provided by them has a direct impact on it.
Objective: To evaluate the patient safety climate perceived by the members of three hospital’s clinical analysis laboratories and to compare the perception of patient safety according to their job position, years of experience, and type of hospital.
Materials and methods: Quantitative design, applying a validated questionnaire. Results: 45% response rate, median age: 43 years (Interquartile Range = 9), 91.5% female. The highest scores corresponded to individual, social and cultural factors, with an average value of 72.0 (95% CI: 67.4-76.6), followed by activity-related factors (70.0 (95% CI: 66.1-73.9)). The lowest score and therefore the least valued corresponded to factors related to equipment and resources, with an average value of 55.0 (95% CI: 51.8-58.3). The overall patient safety evaluated on a scale of 0-10 had an average score of 7.4 (95% CI 6.9-7.8). Depending on the type of hospital, the best assessment was obtained in the military hospital (7.90 ± 1.51), followed by the private (7.39 ± 1.66) and the public hospitals (6.47 ± 1.73) (p = 0.02). In the overall assessment, no differences were detected according to gender (p = 0.31), whereas differences were detected between ages (p = 0.04), with a higher score in people over 45 years.