Nurses' perception regarding patient safety climate and quality of health care in general hospitals in Japan

AIM: To clarify perceptions of nurses towards patient safety climate and quality of health care in Japan. BACKGROUND: Nurses' perceptions of patient safety climate and quality of health care services are not well-known. METHOD: The survey was conducted at general hospitals with 200 beds or more using the Patient Safety Climate Scale and the Modified multiple-item scale for consumer perceptions of health care service quality. RESULTS: Significant positive correlations were found among nurses' perception towards patient safety and health care service quality. The experience of nurses as members of the committee on patient safety and their employment position did not show any significant difference in the perception towards patient safety and health care services quality. Perceptions of health care service quality were lower among those with 6- to 10-year experience than with over 21 years. CONCLUSION: In the perception of nurses and nurse managers' continuous improvement, perceptions towards patient safety were related to reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy in health care service quality. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Generalist nurses with 21 years or more experiences in multiple departments showed high perception towards health care service quality. Experienced nurses' perceptions of activities to improve patient safety and quality of health care services are important.