• Solvejg Kristensen, Jens Henrik Badsberg, Vibeke Rischel, Jacob Anhøj, Jan Mainz, and Paul Bartels.
• solkri@rm.dk.
• Dan Med J. 2015 Nov 1; 62 (11): A5153.

IntroductionThis study aimed to describe and analyse the patient safety climate in 15 Danish hospital units.MethodsA cross-sectional study design was applied. Patient safety culture was measured by the Danish version of the Safety Attitude Questionnaire comprising six cultural subscales. Subscale results were calculated as the percentage responders with an individual scale score of 75 point or more (range: 0-100), equivalent to %-positive, and as mean scale scores.ResultsOut of 867 invited employees, 544 (63%) participated. No differences in %-positive were found between nurses and doctors, across age, gender or work experience (p > 0.05), but the difference between leaders and frontline staff was evident (p < 0.05). Perceptions varied more among individuals within the unit than between units within the hospital, and between hospitals.ConclusionsThe results provide a snapshot of how staff perceives the culture. The level of %-positives per dimension is comparable with most international findings. The higher levels of leaders who perceive the culture as positive should be further investigated in larger samples. Generally, patient safety culture should be assessed at unit level; dimensional strengths and weaknesses as well as subgroup differences should be identified, and dialogue-based methods should be applied to uncover why the culture is perceived as it is.FundingThe TrygFonden provided financial support to the Danish Safer Hospital Programme, which funded this study.Trial Registrationnot relevant.

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