title: CNE article: safety culture in Australian intensive care units: establishing a baseline for quality improvement.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Workplace safety culture is a crucial ingredient in patients' outcomes and is increasingly being explored as a guide for quality improvement efforts.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To establish a baseline understanding of the safety culture in Australian intensive care units.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a nationwide study of physicians and nurses in 10 Australian intensive care units, the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire intensive care unit version was used to measure safety culture. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the mean scores for the 6 subscales of the questionnaire, and generalized-estimation-equations models were used to test the hypotheses that safety culture differed between physicians and nurses and between nurse leaders and bedside nurses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 672 responses (50.6% response rate) were received: 513 (76.3%) from nurses, 89 (13.2%) from physicians, and 70 (10.4%) from respondents who did not specify their professional group. Ratings were highest for teamwork climate and lowest for perceptions of hospital management and working conditions. Four subscales, job satisfaction, teamwork climate, safety climate, and working conditions, were rated significantly higher by physicians than by nurses. Two subscales, working conditions and perceptions of hospital management, were rated significantly lower by nurse leaders than by bedside nurses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measuring the baseline safety culture of an intensive care unit allows leaders to implement targeted strategies to improve specific dimensions of safety culture. These strategies ultimately may improve the working conditions of staff and the care that patients receive.
authors: Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland, Australia, 4222. W.Chaboyer@griffith.edu.au
authors: Wendy
authors: W
authors: Chaboyer
authors: Di
authors: D
authors: Chamberlain
authors: Karena
authors: K
authors: Hewson-Conroy
authors: Bernadette
authors: B
authors: Grealy
authors: Tania
authors: T
authors: Elderkin
authors: Maureen
authors: M
authors: Brittin
authors: Catherine
authors: C
authors: McCutcheon
authors: Paula
authors: P
authors: Longbottom
authors: Lukman
authors: L
authors: Thalib
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015279:Organizational Culture; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D010557:Personnel Administration, Hospital / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce