Dimensions of safety culture: a systematic review of quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods for assessing safety culture in hospitals (27 July 2021)

Summary

In this systematic review published in BMJ Open, the authors analyse and compare the focus of 694 studies about safety culture in hospitals. The review identifies 11 key themes relating to safety culture across the studies.

The authors suggest that the wide range of methods and tools available highlights a persistent lack of consensus in defining patient safety. They also highlight the value of qualitative and mixed method approaches in providing context and meaning to quantitative surveys that assess safety culture.