title: Use of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire as a measure in patient safety improvement.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is widespread interest in improving safety for patients receiving medical care, yet direct measurement of harm has been elusive. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire is a validated measure of patient safety culture that has been associated with improved patient outcomes. We report on an attempt to use the Safety Attitude Questionnaire as an outcome measure for a patient safety implementation project.
  
  
  METHODS
  Operating room staffs at 63 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers were surveyed using the Safety Attitude Questionnaire before and after a medical team training (MTT) program focused on improving staff communication. Survey results before and after MTT within medical centers were compared using nonparametric statistical testing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 63 VA hospitals that received medical team training, 26 showed changes in the staff's attitude as measured by the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. Improvement was most common in the "perceptions of management" domain. There was no correlation between survey response rate and measured improvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire demonstrated good utility as a possible proxy measure of patient safety in the implementation study of MTT. Health care organizations may consider using it to measure effectiveness of safety improvement activities.
authors.affiliation: VA National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program, White River Junction, Vermont 05009, USA. bradley.watts@va.gov
authors.forename: Bradley V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Watts
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Percarpio
authors.forename: Priscilla
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Mills
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D013502:General Surgery / Q000592:standards; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D009873:Operating Rooms / Q000592:standards; D005791:Patient Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012449:Safety / Q000592:standards*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014707:Vermont