Ahmad Al-Nawafleh, Munir Ahmad Abu-Helalah, Victoria Hill, Mohammed Ibrahim Masoud, Hana Ahmed Al-Mahasneh, Eman Tawfeeq Al Salti
Background: A good safety system depends on having a culture that supports and encourages employees to report their errors and near misses. Since there has been no previous literature or current research studies in Jordanian hospitals that measure an organization's safety culture, the purpose of this study is to validate an Arabic version of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC; 2009 version) and to measure health-staff perceptions of the safety culture in Jordanian Ministry of Health (MoH) hospitals.
Methodology: A cross-sectional design using multistage stratified random sampling technique was selected.
Results: A total of 287 respondents completed and returned the survey, representing a response rate of nearly 60%. Internal consistency of the instrument was measured by calculating Cronbach's coefficient alpha. A good overall score of 0.797 (range 0.12 to 0.85) was obtained. The highest positive participant response came from 'Teamwork within units' (average of 68%), although overall perception of patient safety was only 42%.
Conclusion: The Arabic translation of the HSOPSC was found to be valid and reliable. Application of this tool and support for the patient safety culture should be priorities within the provision of health services in Jordan.
