A comparative study on patient safety culture among emergency nurses in the public and private hospitals of Tabriz, Iran

AIM: To appraise patient safety culture in emergency departments of Iranian public and private hospitals. DESIGN: A comparative cross‐sectional survey design was used. METHODS: This cross‐sectional study was conducted from January–March 2019. For data collection, the Hospital Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) questionnaire was employed. The study sample comprised 256 participants. Independent t test and analysis of variance were performed to report the mean differences in total patient safety culture perception according to the participants' characteristics and according to hospital ownership. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in overall perceptions of patient safety culture in public and private sectors (2.94 vs. 2.84, p > .05). There are no solid areas regarding patient safety found neither in public nor in private sectors. Out of 12 dimensions of patient safety culture, different perceptions of nurses working in public and private hospitals belonged to “Organizational learning” (t = 2.13, p = .034) and “Handoffs and transitions” (t = 2.91, p = .004). Regarding the participants' characteristics, no significant difference was observed as to the perspectives of nurses on patient safety culture. However, there was a meaningful difference in the attitudes of nurses working in public hospitals according to their employment status (t = 2.07, p = .039).