Assessing Clinical Staff Perception of Patient Safety Culture of Selected Hospitals in Bawku Central and West Districts

Abstract

Patient safety culture is a fundamental determinant of patient safety. Keeping patients safe ensures the wellbeing of the citizenry which translates into economic productivity. Infrastructural and human resource deficit in Africa and Ghana calls for more attention in the area of patient safety culture. As part of getting better outcomes for patients, the Ghana Health Service patient chatter was developed to guide both patients and health workers to achieve good patient care outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess clinical staff perception of patient safety culture in selected hospitals in Bawku Central and Bawku West Districts and explore the challenges staff encounter when observing patient safety culture. The study employed Mixed Method approach and Cross-sectional survey using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSPSC) data collection tool. The target population was clinical staff. Out of the 385 questionnaires administered, 364 representing 94% response rate was achieved. The results were presented using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, correlation and multiple linear regression. Qualitative data was analyzed in themes. The results indicate that the overall positive rating of patient safety culture was 59%. Non-punitive response to errors (25.95%), and Staffing (33.45) were perceived to be poor. ANOVA comparative test of the selected hospitals and patient safety grade indicates that Vineyard (private) has a better safety grade (66.7%) than Presbyterian (faithbased and Zebilla (public) hospitals. Regression analysis showed that three structural factors; management support for patient safety (β=.188, p=.000), non-punitive response to error (β =.092, p=.014) and supervisor’s expectation and action promoting patient safety (β =.188, p=.017) influence patient safety grade and frequency of event reported. The findings suggest that patient safety culture is important in improving the overall performance of hospitals and ensuring patient safety.