Nurses' Perceptions of Safety Culture in Long-Term Care Settings

Purpose: To describe perceptions of workplace safety culture among nurses employed in long-term care (LTC) settings. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Respondents were licensed nurses (N=550) with membership in gerontological nursing professional organizations in the United States (n=296), Canada (n=251), and other (n=3). Methods: An anonymous, self-administered, mail-in questionnaire, which included the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture as well as questions about individual and institutional characteristics. The survey included key aspects of safety culture, such as work setting, supervisor support, communication about errors, and frequency of events reported. Findings: Nurse-managers reported significantly more positive safety culture perceptions compared with licensed staff nurses. Additionally, licensed nurses employed in government-run facilities had significantly less positive safety culture perceptions compared with those working in nonprofit organizations. Conclusions: Interventions designed to improve safety culture in LTC settings should be focused on the concerns of licensed staff nurses and the improvement of communication between these nurses and their managers. Clinical Relevance: Enhancing safety culture in long-term care settings may facilitate improvements in resident safety. Assessment of workplace safety culture is the first step in identifying barriers that nurses face to provide safe resident care.