Comparing the Safety Culture of Nursing Homes and Hospitals

The purpose of this study was to compare the patient safety culture between nationally representative samples of hospitals and nursing homes. This research is important in expanding our understanding of safety culture, to better understand the differences and similarities between healthcare settings, and to promote shared learning of best practices between settings. Findings from the Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture (NHSPSC) were compared with findings from the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC). Of the 26 highly similar items in these questionnaires, 9 of the NHSPSC scores were lower than the HSOPSC scores (indicating poorer perceptions of safety culture), 1 score was identical, and 16 of the NHSPSC scores were higher than the HSOPSC scores (indicating better perceptions of safety culture). Some learning opportunity may present itself for both nursing homes and hospitals to improve safety culture. This may have a significant impact on quality of care and quality of life for residents.