title: [Assessment of the patient-safety culture in a healthcare district].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  1) To describe the frequency of positive attitudes and behaviours, in terms of patient safety, among the healthcare providers working in a healthcare district; 2) to determine whether the level of safety-related culture differs from other studies; and 3) to analyse negatively valued dimensions, and to establish areas for their improvement.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive, cross-sectional study based on the results of an evaluation of the safety-related culture was conducted on a randomly selected sample of 247 healthcare providers, by using the Spanish adaptation of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) designed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), as the evaluation tool. Positive and negative responses were analysed, as well as the global score. Results were compared with international and national results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 176 completed survey questionnaires were analysed (response rate: 71.26%); 50% of responders described the safety climate as very good, 37% as acceptable, and 7% as excellent. Strong points were: «Teamwork within the units» (80.82%) and «Supervisor/manager expectations and actions» (80.54%). Dimensions identified for potential improvement included: «Staffing» (37.93%), «Non-punitive response to error» (41.67%), and «Frequency of event reporting» (49.05%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Strong and weak points were identified in the safety-related culture of the healthcare district studied, together with potential improvement areas. Benchmarking at the international level showed that our safety-related culture was within the average of hospitals, while at the national level, our results were above the average of hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Médico especialista en Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria, Hospital Regional Universitario Carlos Haya de Málaga, Málaga, España. Electronic address: francisco.pozo.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pozo Muñoz
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Padilla Marín
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D015279:Organizational Culture; D061214:Patient Safety; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Actitud de profesionales sanitarios; Attitude of health personnel; Cultura organizacional; Gestión de la seguridad; Organizational culture; Patient safety; Safety management; Seguridad del paciente