Key drivers of promoting patient safety culture from the perspective of medical staff at a tertiary hospital in China

Purpose Understanding the antecedents of patient safety culture among medical staff is essential if hospital managers are to promote explicit patient safety policies and strategies. The factors that influence patient safety culture have received little attention. The authors aim to investigate the antecedents of patient safety culture (safety climate) in relation to medical staff to develop a comprehensive approach to improve patient safety and the quality of medical care in China. Design/methodology/approach The Chinese version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (CSAQ) was used to examine the attitudes toward patient safety among physicians and nurses. This medical staff was asked to submit the intra-organizational online survey via email. A total of 1780 questionnaires were issued. The final useable questionnaires were 256, yielding a response rate of 14.38%. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to test if different sex, supervisor/manager, age, working experience, and education result in different perceptions. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to verify the structure of the data. Then linear regression with forward selection was performed to obtain the essential dimension(s) that affect the safety culture (safety climate). Findings The CFA results showed that 26 CSAQ items measured 6 safety-related dimensions. The linear regression results indicated that working conditions, teamwork climate, and job satisfaction had significant positive effects on safety culture (safety climate). Practical implications Hospital managers should put increased effort into essential elements of patient-oriented safety culture, such as working conditions, teamwork climate, and job satisfaction to develop appropriate avenues to improve the quality of delivered medical services as well as the safety of patients. Originality/value This study focused on the contribution that the antecedents of patient safety culture (safety climate) make with reference to the perspective of medical staff in a tertiary hospital in China.