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AHRQ releases survey to assess Nursing Home Safety Culture

Newswise — AHRQ has just released the Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture to help nursing homes assess safety culture, track changes in resident safety over time, and evaluate the impact of safety interventions.

The new evidence-based survey assesses nursing home staff opinions of patient safety culture in the nursing home.

The survey is part of a toolkit that includes: (1) a user’s guide that walks facilities through the survey process, including such topics as overall project planning, data collection procedures, data analysis, and reporting; and (2) the survey materials with additional information on individual survey items and appendixes with example materials.

The survey offers:

• Free toolkit materials;
• Free technical assistance for survey administration, data collection, and analysis;
• Easy-to-understand questions;
• Ability to gain knowledge of how all staff in the facility view patient safety culture, from administrators and clinicians to housekeeping and maintenance workers;
• Ability to compare one facility to other similar facilities and track changes over time;
• Access to a survey users-group for sharing success stories and implementation strategies with colleagues; and
• Evidence-based findings, as the survey is psychometrically sound and has been pilot-tested in 40 nursing homes across the country.

The survey measures 12 important dimensions related to resident safety culture, including communication openness, compliance with procedures, feedback and communication about incidents, handoffs, and nonpunitive response to mistakes, among other measures.

It is important to note that the survey was developed for use in nursing home facilities; it is not intended for use in assisted living, rehabilitation, community care, or independent living facilities.

The survey and other toolkit materials are available on the AHRQ Web site at http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/hospculture/. Free technical assistance for survey administration is available by e-mailing: safetyculturesurveys@ahrq.hhs.gov.