Patient safety attitude among intensive care unit physicians and nurses: a multi-center study in Egypt

Abstract Background Continuous safety culture assessment, especially in high-risk areas as the intensive care unit (ICU) is one of the requirements for patient safety. This study aimed to assess patient safety attitude in the intensive care units of four public hospitals in Egypt, compare it with be...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Taghareed A. Elhoseny, Mohamed A. Kandil, Rasha A. Mosallam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s42506-025-00190-2
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850272907915165696
author Taghareed A. Elhoseny
Mohamed A. Kandil
Rasha A. Mosallam
author_facet Taghareed A. Elhoseny
Mohamed A. Kandil
Rasha A. Mosallam
author_sort Taghareed A. Elhoseny
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Continuous safety culture assessment, especially in high-risk areas as the intensive care unit (ICU) is one of the requirements for patient safety. This study aimed to assess patient safety attitude in the intensive care units of four public hospitals in Egypt, compare it with benchmarking data, and identify opportunities for improvement. Methods A cross-sectional design was used. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) was distributed in March 2024 to a total of 543 physicians and nurses involved in direct patient care in eight ICU of four public hospitals. A response rate of 85% was achieved (65.12% for physicians and 89.28% for nurses). Safety culture score (ranges from 0 to 100) and percent-positive scores (percentage of respondents with a mean score of > 75 where 100 is best) were calculated according to the tool scoring key. The scores were also compared with the benchmarking scores. Results The overall mean scale score was 63.7 ± 13.4 and the percentage of positive responses was 58.1%. Job satisfaction was the dimension with the highest total mean and percentage of positive responses (70.0 and 65.1%, respectively). On the other hand, stress recognition was the dimension with the lowest mean score and percentage of positive responses (59.4 ± 23.8 and 53.6%, respectively). Physicians attained a significantly higher total mean scale score for the teamwork climate, job satisfaction, perceptions of management and work conditions dimensions compared to nurses (73.8 ± 10.4, 81.7 ± 14.6, 72.5 ± 19.4, 70.6 ± 18.1 for physicians compared to 61.0 ± 15.4, 68.4 ± 23.0, 60.8 ± 22.4, 61.8 ± 22.3 for nurses, respectively) (p < 0.05) while “stress recognition’’ was significantly higher among nurses (mean scale score for nurses was 60.4 ± 23.6, p < 0.05 compared to 52.0 ± 24.0, p < 0.05 for physicians). The dimensions “teamwork climate’’, “safety climate’’ and “stress recognition’’ attained lower scores in the current study compared to the benchmark data. Conclusion The dimensions “teamwork climate’’, “safety climate’’, and “stress recognition’’ attained relatively low scores which calls for interventions such as team trainings, limitation of work hours and senior executive safety rounds. Physicians had significantly higher scores than nurses in four out of six domains which needs further research to identify the reasons and plan the appropriate improvement strategies. Future studies should track changes over time.
format Article
id doaj-art-bf28595d7afb4185b26c2cb50f54b138
institution OA Journals
issn 2090-262X
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher SpringerOpen
record_format Article
series Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association
spelling doaj-art-bf28595d7afb4185b26c2cb50f54b1382025-08-20T01:51:39ZengSpringerOpenJournal of the Egyptian Public Health Association2090-262X2025-05-01100111010.1186/s42506-025-00190-2Patient safety attitude among intensive care unit physicians and nurses: a multi-center study in EgyptTaghareed A. Elhoseny0Mohamed A. Kandil1Rasha A. Mosallam2Department of Health Administration and Behavioural Sciences, High Institute of Public Health, University of AlexandriaDepartment of Emergency Medical Care, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal UniversityDepartment of Health Administration and Behavioural Sciences, High Institute of Public Health, University of AlexandriaAbstract Background Continuous safety culture assessment, especially in high-risk areas as the intensive care unit (ICU) is one of the requirements for patient safety. This study aimed to assess patient safety attitude in the intensive care units of four public hospitals in Egypt, compare it with benchmarking data, and identify opportunities for improvement. Methods A cross-sectional design was used. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) was distributed in March 2024 to a total of 543 physicians and nurses involved in direct patient care in eight ICU of four public hospitals. A response rate of 85% was achieved (65.12% for physicians and 89.28% for nurses). Safety culture score (ranges from 0 to 100) and percent-positive scores (percentage of respondents with a mean score of > 75 where 100 is best) were calculated according to the tool scoring key. The scores were also compared with the benchmarking scores. Results The overall mean scale score was 63.7 ± 13.4 and the percentage of positive responses was 58.1%. Job satisfaction was the dimension with the highest total mean and percentage of positive responses (70.0 and 65.1%, respectively). On the other hand, stress recognition was the dimension with the lowest mean score and percentage of positive responses (59.4 ± 23.8 and 53.6%, respectively). Physicians attained a significantly higher total mean scale score for the teamwork climate, job satisfaction, perceptions of management and work conditions dimensions compared to nurses (73.8 ± 10.4, 81.7 ± 14.6, 72.5 ± 19.4, 70.6 ± 18.1 for physicians compared to 61.0 ± 15.4, 68.4 ± 23.0, 60.8 ± 22.4, 61.8 ± 22.3 for nurses, respectively) (p < 0.05) while “stress recognition’’ was significantly higher among nurses (mean scale score for nurses was 60.4 ± 23.6, p < 0.05 compared to 52.0 ± 24.0, p < 0.05 for physicians). The dimensions “teamwork climate’’, “safety climate’’ and “stress recognition’’ attained lower scores in the current study compared to the benchmark data. Conclusion The dimensions “teamwork climate’’, “safety climate’’, and “stress recognition’’ attained relatively low scores which calls for interventions such as team trainings, limitation of work hours and senior executive safety rounds. Physicians had significantly higher scores than nurses in four out of six domains which needs further research to identify the reasons and plan the appropriate improvement strategies. Future studies should track changes over time.https://doi.org/10.1186/s42506-025-00190-2Safety culturePatient safetySafety Attitudes QuestionnaireIntensive care unit staffICU physicians and nursesEgypt
spellingShingle Taghareed A. Elhoseny
Mohamed A. Kandil
Rasha A. Mosallam
Patient safety attitude among intensive care unit physicians and nurses: a multi-center study in Egypt
Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association
Safety culture
Patient safety
Safety Attitudes Questionnaire
Intensive care unit staff
ICU physicians and nurses
Egypt
title Patient safety attitude among intensive care unit physicians and nurses: a multi-center study in Egypt
title_full Patient safety attitude among intensive care unit physicians and nurses: a multi-center study in Egypt
title_fullStr Patient safety attitude among intensive care unit physicians and nurses: a multi-center study in Egypt
title_full_unstemmed Patient safety attitude among intensive care unit physicians and nurses: a multi-center study in Egypt
title_short Patient safety attitude among intensive care unit physicians and nurses: a multi-center study in Egypt
title_sort patient safety attitude among intensive care unit physicians and nurses a multi center study in egypt
topic Safety culture
Patient safety
Safety Attitudes Questionnaire
Intensive care unit staff
ICU physicians and nurses
Egypt
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s42506-025-00190-2
work_keys_str_mv AT taghareedaelhoseny patientsafetyattitudeamongintensivecareunitphysiciansandnursesamulticenterstudyinegypt
AT mohamedakandil patientsafetyattitudeamongintensivecareunitphysiciansandnursesamulticenterstudyinegypt
AT rashaamosallam patientsafetyattitudeamongintensivecareunitphysiciansandnursesamulticenterstudyinegypt