An exploration of patient safety culture in Kuwait hospitals: a qualitative study of healthcare professionals' perspectives

Abstract

Objective Patient safety culture (PSC) represents a key component of the quality of care offered by healthcare professionals. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the factors that influence the implementation of a safe culture. This study explored the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals in Kuwait towards the factors that might affect the PSC. Methods A qualitative study using semi‐structured interviews with healthcare professionals was conducted between February and June 2018 at two major hospitals in Kuwait. Both hospitals had been accredited and have been applying the safety programmes recommended by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health. Participants were purposively selected where 20 healthcare professionals were interviewed. The interviewees comprised of six physicians, six clinical pharmacists, six nurses and two members of the patient safety committee. Inclusion criteria involved healthcare professionals who had more than 1‐year clinical experience, have interest in patient safety and had a good level of English. Interviews were audio‐recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was conducted to identify the emergent themes. Key findings Thematic analysis of the interviews yielded three major themes related to ‘management', ‘regulations and policies' and ‘healthcare professionals'. Management issues included managerial support, resources, safety environment and staff training. Regulations and policies highlighted issues related to policies and procedures and incident reporting system. Healthcare professionals' theme covered factors related to knowledge, communication and teamwork among healthcare professionals. Conclusions This study gave insight into how healthcare professionals perceive the current PSC in Kuwait. Despite their positive attitudes and knowledge towards patient safety, various barriers were reported that hinder optimal PSC. These barriers were related to support, staffing, resources and response to error.

Exploring Patient Safety Culture in a Kuwaiti Secondary Care Setting

“…The current staff members' perspectives were similar to those reported by a recent qualitative study conducted in two accredited public hospitals in Kuwait. 5 For example, both studies suggested that patient safety was not prioritised in daily practice due to staff and resource shortages. However, unlike that study, the staff and patients in the current study suggested more training and orientation to improve staff awareness of patient safety.…”

“…This difference in findings may be attributed to accountability differences between the two settings-the hospitals studied by Al Hamid et al were accredited, while the hospital in the current study was not. 5 Another difference of note involved the presence (or lack thereof ) of supportive leadership. Whether by implementing an accreditation programme, offering supportive leadership or targeting other factors, it seems that healthcare organisations with a positive PSC have mechanisms that support decisive action.…”

“…4 Since this review, only one qualitative study in the Arab/GCC context was published. 5 This recent study explored doctors' and nurses' PSC perspectives in two public hospitals in Kuwait. The authors concluded that participants had a good understanding of the concept of PSC and that appropriate leadership support, resources and response to errors were required to achieve optimal PSC levels in the studied context.…”

“…The authors concluded that participants had a good understanding of the concept of PSC and that appropriate leadership support, resources and response to errors were required to achieve optimal PSC levels in the studied context. 5 Surveys describe a phenomenon at a particular point in time. Still, they cannot provide an understanding as to 'why' , i.e.…”

How do pharmacists contribute to global medication safety?

“…[ 10 ] The impact of the introduction of a rational Drug Use Policy in Thailand, with a positive impact on the unsafe prescribing of glibenclamide, is described in another paper [ 11 ] and a study from Kuwait highlights that issues related to support, staffing, resources and response to error were perceived as important barriers to developing a strong patient safety culture. [ 12 ]…”