Patient safety attitudes among critical care nurses: A case study in North Cyprus

INTRODUCTION: Patient safety has become a crucial priority in quality healthcare. Adverse events and serious errors involving critically ill patients are common and can be potentially life-threatening. Thus, this study aimed to examine patient safety attitudes among critical care nurses. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two hospitals in North Cyprus. Eighty nurses working in critical care units participated in the study. Following ethical approval, data were collected between September and October 2018, using the Demographic Characteristics Questionnaire and Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. FINDINGS: Nurses' overall scores regarding patient safety attitudes were found to be negative. The highest positive rate was for safety climate, followed by perception of management, teamwork, working conditions, job satisfaction, and stress recognition, respectively. There were significant differences among working conditions, perception of management, and stress recognition based on participants' positions and event reporting. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate safety culture needs to be improved in the hospitals included in the study. Healthcare managers and decision-makers should foster patient safety culture through in-service education, management support, institutional regulations, and updated guidelines.