Predictors of Nursing Performance for Patient Safety among Nurses in Regional Hospitals: A Cross-sectional Study

Predictors of Nursing Performance for Patient Safety among Nurses in Regional Hospitals

Abstract

Nursing performance for patient safety is crucial for improving patient safety outcomes and quality of care. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore nursing performance for patient safety and identify the predictability of patient safety knowledge, patient safety attitude, nurse practice environment, patient-to-nurse ratio, and nursing hours per patient day on nursing performance for patient safety. The participants included 234 nurses randomly selected from six regional hospitals across Thailand. The research instruments included a demographic data form, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, the Patient Safety Principles and Knowledge Questionnaire, the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire, and the Nursing Performance for Patient Safety Scale, which yielded scale-level content validity indices ranging from .85 to .88. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from .81 to .98. Descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression were utilized for the data analysis.
The results revealed that the nurses perceived overall nursing performance for patient safety at a high level. Patient-to-nurse ratio was the strongest predictor of nursing performance for patient safety, followed by patient safety knowledge, patient safety attitude, nurse practice environment, and nursing hours per patient day. All predictors could predict nursing performance for patient safety, accounting for 56.00% of the variance. Nurse administrators and policymakers can use the results of this study to develop strategies for improving nursing performance for patient safety. We recommend longitudinal studies using different samples of Thailand nurses in diverse settings to confirm results across the country.