Measuring Safety Climate in Primary Care Offices

Abstract

The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) is a self-administered survey that measures six safety attitude constructs. The performance of the ambulatory version of the survey (SAQ-A) has not been evaluated in primary care offices. Objectives: The objectives of this project were to (1) test the internal consistency-reliability of the SAQ-A in primary care offices, and (2) develop a cybernetic model to help clarify the terms, culture, climate, and attitude. Methods: Internal consistency-reliability for each safety attitude construct was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha. A literature review informed the development of the cybernetic model. Results: For all respondents combined, Cronbach’s alphas for the six safety attitude constructs ranged from 0.58 to 0.77. The lowest alphas were for perceptions of management (especially for nursing staff) and working conditions (especially for administrative staff). Conclusion: The instrument appears to have good overall consistency-reliability in primary care offices, but it performed poorly with some subgroups. Further work is needed to evaluate and refine the SAQ-A for use in primary care settings.