Measuring safety culture in healthcare: A case for accurate diagnosis

Recent concern regarding the safety of patients in Western healthcare systems has resulted in the adoption of safety management techniques used in high-risk industries. One such method is the use of safety climate questionnaries to survey workforce perceptions and attitudes towards both worker and patient safety in healthcare organizations. Many of the earliest healthcare safety climate measures did not appear to meet accepted psychometric standards. The theoretical foundation of the relationship between perceptions of safety climate and workers’ behaviour is not well specified in this literature and a model derived from industry research is proposed.