Status and Factors Associated With Patient Safety Culture in Traditional Chinese Medicine Institutions: A Cross‐Sectional Study

TL;DR

This study examines patient safety culture in traditional Chinese medicine institutions in Zhejiang Province and identifies factors that influence it.

Contribution

The study provides insights into patient safety culture in traditional Chinese medicine settings and identifies key influencing factors.

Findings

The overall patient safety culture score was 3.92, indicating a relatively high level.

“Communication About Error” had the highest score, while “Reporting Patient Safety Events” had the lowest.

Factors like age, income, hospital grade, professional title, and working hours significantly influence patient safety culture.

Abstract

Strengthening the patient safety culture is essential for improving healthcare service quality and ensuring patient safety. The study's aim was to investigate the current status of patient safety culture in traditional Chinese medicine institutions and its associated factors to provide scientific recommendations for improvement.

This cross‐sectional study was conducted October 14–18, 2024. Four traditional Chinese medicine institutions in Zhejiang Province, China, were selected using convenience sampling, and the expected sample size was 544 participants. Data were collected using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire, which comprises two sections: individual characteristics and patient safety culture. The latter comprises 10 dimensions with 32 items rated on a five‐point Likert scale. Dimension scores were calculated as the mean of corresponding item scores, and the overall score as the mean of all dimension scores. Descriptive statistics, t‐tests, analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze current status and associated factors of patient safety culture.

A total of 522 valid questionnaires were collected. The average patient safety culture score was 3.92. Among the dimensions, “F Communication About Error” received the highest score and “H Reporting Patient Safety Events” the lowest score. Age, monthly income, hospital grade, professional title, and weekly working hours were identified as independent factors associated with patient safety culture.

The overall patient safety culture in the traditional Chinese medicine institutions of Zhejiang Province is relatively high but is affected by multiple factors. Further efforts are needed to implement diverse strategies aimed at strengthening patient safety culture within traditional Chinese medicine institutions.

This study investigated the status and determinants of patient safety culture in traditional Chinese medicine institutions in Zhejiang Province. Results showed a relatively higher patient safety culture, with “Communication About Error” scoring highest and “Reporting Patient Safety Events” lowest. Key influencing factors include age, income, hospital grade, professional title, and working hours.

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