Table B-6. Item-level Average Percent Positive Response by Respondent Staff Position

2007 Comparative Database Report

Patient Safety Culture CompositesStaff Position
Admin/
Mgmt		Attending/
Physician/
Resident/
PA or NP		DieticianPat Care
Asst/Aide/
Care Partner		PharmacistRN/LVN/
LPN		Technician
(EKG,
Lab,
Radiology)		Therapist
(Respiratory,
Phys,
Occup,
Speech)		Unit Asst/
Clerk/
Secretary
361
Hospi-
tals		251
Hospi-
tals		204
Hospi-
tals		311
Hospi-
tals		261
Hospi-
tals		374
Hospi-
tals		334
Hospi-
tals		319
Hospi-
tals		354
Hospi-
tals
6,938
Respon-
dents		4,414
Respon-
dents		725
Respon-
dents		5,904
Respon-
dents		1,561
Respon-
dents		36,991
Respon-
dents		10,947
Respon-
dents		4,791
Respon-
dents		6,848
Respon-
dents
1. Teamwork Within UnitsA1—People support one another in this unit.90%86%81%77%86%84%80%87%81%
A3—When a lot of work needs to be done quickly, we work together as a team to get the work done.91%85%82%80%85%86%84%87%82%
A4—In this unit, people treat each other with respect.84%84%74%68%79%76%74%84%75%
A11—When one area in this unit gets really busy, others help out.75%69%69%62%69%66%67%75%67%
2. Supv/Mgr Expectations & Actions Promoting Patient SafetyB1—My supv/mgr says a good word when he/she sees a job done according to established patient safety procedures.78%66%75%70%70%68%67%71%73%
B2—My supv/mgr seriously considers staff suggestions for improving patient safety.85%73%76%73%78%74%74%80%77%
B3—Whenever pressure builds up, my supv/mgr wants us to work faster, even if it means taking shortcuts.82%65%70%73%78%73%77%76%78%
B4—My supv/mgr overlooks patient safety problems that happen over and over.83%70%73%75%77%75%76%78%78%
3. Mgmt Support for Patient SafetyF1—Hospital mgmt provides a work climate that promotes patient safety.89%78%83%80%72%73%80%81%83%
F8—The actions of hospital mgmt show that patient safety is a top priority.82%69%76%74%69%63%71%71%74%
F9—Hospital mgmt seems interested in patient safety only after an adverse event happens.74%58%59%57%61%54%58%59%61%
4. Organizational Learning—Continuous ImprovementA6—We are actively doing things to improve patient safety.85%78%79%82%86%81%77%82%78%
A9—Mistakes have led to positive changes here.79%65%62%57%72%59%61%59%59%
A13—After we make changes to improve patient safety, we evaluate their effectiveness.74%68%64%71%62%66%63%69%67%
5. Overall Perceptions of Patient SafetyA10 R—It is just by chance that more serious mistakes don';t happen around here.71%64%60%50%63%58%62%67%58%
A15—Patient safety is never sacrificed to get more work done.70%61%67%63%58%55%70%69%70%
A17 R— We have patient safety problems in this unit.69%59%62%55%58%56%70%70%67%
A18—Our procedures and systems are good at preventing errors from happening.75%65%69%65%70%64%73%75%69%
6. Feedback and Communication About ErrorC1—We are given feedback about changes put into place based on event reports.62%52%61%53%51%50%49%55%55%
C3—We are informed about errors that happen in this unit.75%62%66%65%69%58%68%66%70%
C5—In this unit, we discuss ways to prevent errors from happening again.80%67%72%68%73%66%69%74%71%
7. Communication OpennessC2—Staff will freely speak up if they see something that may negatively affect patient care.82%74%74%75%79%75%76%80%74%
C4—Staff feel free to question the decisions or actions of those with more authority.65%57%53%39%62%45%45%54%41%
C6 R—Staff are afraid to ask questions when something does not seem right.71%62%60%56%74%62%65%70%60%
8. Frequency of Events ReportedD1—When a mistake is made, but is caught and corrected before affecting the patient, how often is this reported?56%48%47%60%34%46%48%49%57%
D2—When a mistake is made, but has no potential to harm the patient, how often is this reported?59%51%46%57%50%58%51%50%57%
D3—When a mistake is made that could harm the patient, but does not, how often is this reported?76%69%66%71%72%76%73%70%74%
9. Teamwork Across UnitsF2 R—Hospital units do not coordinate well with each other.51%46%49%48%44%41%43%49%45%
F4—There is good cooperation among hospital units that need to work together.64%61%58%59%57%54%57%63%58%
F6 R—It is often unpleasant to work with staff from other hospital units.61%60%62%59%61%58%55%65%55%
F10—Hospital units work well together to provide the best care for patients.73%67%70%71%62%63%65%70%68%
10. StaffingA2—We have enough staff to handle the workload.67%58%58%43%50%53%54%54%50%
A5 R—Staff in this unit work longer hours than is best for patient care.  57%51%53%46%59%55%54%58%51%
A7 R—We use more agency/temporary staff than is best for patient care.68%62%59%62%66%70%67%69%60%
A14 R—We work in "crisis mode" trying to do too much, too quickly.54%51%52%44%47%47%48%54%51%
11. Handoffs & TransitionsF3 R—Things "fall between the cracks" when transferring patients from one unit to another.43%41%35%46%28%43%36%40%44%
F5 R—Important patient care information is often lost during shift changes.48%46%41%58%34%53%46%47%50%
F7 R—Problems often occur in the exchange of information across hospital units.45%43%41%42%32%44%37%44%42%
F11 R—Shift changes are problematic for patients in this hospital.48%39%39%51%32%49%42%42%45%
12. Nonpunitive Response to ErrorA8 R—Staff feel like their mistakes are held against them.67%49%51%39%63%50%49%58%48%
A12 R—When an event is reported, it feels like the person is being written up, not the problem.65%44%45%34%60%44%41%49%39%
A16 R—Staff worry that mistakes they make are kept in their personnel file.49%35%38%26%53%34%35%42%31%

Return to Appendix B

Page last reviewed December 2012
Internet Citation: Table B-6. Item-level Average Percent Positive Response by Respondent Staff Position: 2007 Comparative Database Report. December 2012. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. https://archive.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/patientsafetyculture/hospital/2007/hospdbtabb6.html