title: The Arabic version of the hospital survey on patient safety culture: a psychometric evaluation in a Palestinian sample.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A growing global interest in patient safety culture has increased the development of validated instruments to asses this phenomenon. The aim of this study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) and its appropriateness for Arab hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 7-step guideline of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was used to translate and validate the HSOPSC. A panel of experts evaluated the face and content validity indexing of the Arabic version. Data were collected from 13 Palestinian hospitals including 2022 healthcare professionals who had direct or indirect interaction with patients, hospital supervisors, managers and administrators. Descriptive statistics and psychometric evaluation (a split-half validation technique) were then used to test and strengthen the validity and reliability of the instrument.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With respect to face and content validity, the CVI analysis showed excellent results for the Arab context (CVI = 0.96). As to construct validity, the 12 original dimensions could not be applied to the Palestinian data. Furthermore, three of the 12 original dimensions were not reliable (α <0.6). The split-half technique resulted in an optimal 11-factor model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study is the first study in the Arab world to provide an evaluation of the HSOPSC using Arabic data from Palestine. The Arabic translation of the HSOPSC comprises an 11-factor structure showing good validity and acceptable reliability. Despite the similarity between the Arab factor structure of the HSOPSC and that of the original one, and taking into account that our version may be applied in Arabic hospitals, there is a need for caution in comparing HSOPSC data between countries.
authors.affiliation: Health Services Research Group, School of Public Health KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Shahenaz.najjar@med.kuleuven.be
authors.forename: Shahenaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Najjar
authors.forename: Motasem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamdan
authors.forename: Elfi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baillien
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vleugels
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Euwema
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sermeus
authors.forename: Luk
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bruyneel
authors.forename: Kris
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vanhaecht
mesh_terms: D018912:Arabs; D006761:Hospitals; D007802:Language; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D061214:Patient Safety; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*