Measuring the patient safety climate in community pharmacies: an updated national survey

Christina Ljungberg Persson; Annika Nordén Hägg; Björn Södergård

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-088323

Measuring the patient safety climate in community pharmacies: an updated national survey

Christina Ljungberg Persson^*
, Annika Nordén Hägg
, Björn Södergård

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Background The patient safety climate in community pharmacies was measured nationally in Sweden in 2008. Since that time the Swedish pharmacy market has undergone a re-regulation which probably has affected the patient safety climate in pharmacies. Objectives The aim was to evaluate the patient safety climate among pharmacists working in Swedish community pharmacies and compare it with historical data. Design The patient safety climate among pharmacists was analysed in two cross-sectional surveys. Historical data from 2008 and data collected in 2022 were compared. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), containing items on safety culture arranged in six dimensions, was used in both surveys. It uses a 5-point Likert scale to create a quantitative description of the respondents' perception of patient safety climate. Setting Community pharmacies in Sweden. Participants These surveys were census studies because all pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Sweden were invited to participate and no sampling occurred. Results The number of respondents was 2738 in 2008 and 1931 in 2022. The patient safety climate in Swedish community pharmacies appears to have worsened between 2008 and 2022 according to the pharmacists. All values of the dimensions included in the SAQ have decreased, except for the dimension of Stress Recognition, where an increase indicated a larger awareness among the pharmacists of how stress impacts their work. The overall negative trend in SAQ values seen between 2008 and 2022 was consistent, irrespective of the respondent's level of education, their role in the pharmacy or the number of years since their education was completed. Conclusions The patient safety climate in community pharmacies in Sweden seems to have deteriorated. With an increasingly strained healthcare system, community pharmacists must be reliable defenders of patient safety, and it is essential to ensure that the climate in their workplace supports the important work being carried out.

Original language	English
Article number	e088323
Journal	BMJ Open
Volume	15
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-088323
Publication status	Published - 20 Jan 2025
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

The study was funded by a research grant provided by Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. The funding source played no role in the execution of the research or the dissemination of the findings. Additionally, this research did not receive any additional grants from public, commercial, or not-for-profit organizations.

Keywords

Cross-Sectional Studies
Pharmacists
Surveys and Questionnaires

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10.1136/bmjopen-2024-088323Licence: CC BY-NC

e088323.fullFinal published version, 349 KBLicence: CC BY-NC

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2026022415844

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title = "Measuring the patient safety climate in community pharmacies: an updated national survey",

abstract = "Background The patient safety climate in community pharmacies was measured nationally in Sweden in 2008. Since that time the Swedish pharmacy market has undergone a re-regulation which probably has affected the patient safety climate in pharmacies. Objectives The aim was to evaluate the patient safety climate among pharmacists working in Swedish community pharmacies and compare it with historical data. Design The patient safety climate among pharmacists was analysed in two cross-sectional surveys. Historical data from 2008 and data collected in 2022 were compared. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), containing items on safety culture arranged in six dimensions, was used in both surveys. It uses a 5-point Likert scale to create a quantitative description of the respondents' perception of patient safety climate. Setting Community pharmacies in Sweden. Participants These surveys were census studies because all pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Sweden were invited to participate and no sampling occurred. Results The number of respondents was 2738 in 2008 and 1931 in 2022. The patient safety climate in Swedish community pharmacies appears to have worsened between 2008 and 2022 according to the pharmacists. All values of the dimensions included in the SAQ have decreased, except for the dimension of Stress Recognition, where an increase indicated a larger awareness among the pharmacists of how stress impacts their work. The overall negative trend in SAQ values seen between 2008 and 2022 was consistent, irrespective of the respondent's level of education, their role in the pharmacy or the number of years since their education was completed. Conclusions The patient safety climate in community pharmacies in Sweden seems to have deteriorated. With an increasingly strained healthcare system, community pharmacists must be reliable defenders of patient safety, and it is essential to ensure that the climate in their workplace supports the important work being carried out.",

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note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.",

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AU - Nordén Hägg, Annika

AU - Södergård, Björn

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

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Y1 - 2025/1/20

N2 - Background The patient safety climate in community pharmacies was measured nationally in Sweden in 2008. Since that time the Swedish pharmacy market has undergone a re-regulation which probably has affected the patient safety climate in pharmacies. Objectives The aim was to evaluate the patient safety climate among pharmacists working in Swedish community pharmacies and compare it with historical data. Design The patient safety climate among pharmacists was analysed in two cross-sectional surveys. Historical data from 2008 and data collected in 2022 were compared. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), containing items on safety culture arranged in six dimensions, was used in both surveys. It uses a 5-point Likert scale to create a quantitative description of the respondents' perception of patient safety climate. Setting Community pharmacies in Sweden. Participants These surveys were census studies because all pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Sweden were invited to participate and no sampling occurred. Results The number of respondents was 2738 in 2008 and 1931 in 2022. The patient safety climate in Swedish community pharmacies appears to have worsened between 2008 and 2022 according to the pharmacists. All values of the dimensions included in the SAQ have decreased, except for the dimension of Stress Recognition, where an increase indicated a larger awareness among the pharmacists of how stress impacts their work. The overall negative trend in SAQ values seen between 2008 and 2022 was consistent, irrespective of the respondent's level of education, their role in the pharmacy or the number of years since their education was completed. Conclusions The patient safety climate in community pharmacies in Sweden seems to have deteriorated. With an increasingly strained healthcare system, community pharmacists must be reliable defenders of patient safety, and it is essential to ensure that the climate in their workplace supports the important work being carried out.

AB - Background The patient safety climate in community pharmacies was measured nationally in Sweden in 2008. Since that time the Swedish pharmacy market has undergone a re-regulation which probably has affected the patient safety climate in pharmacies. Objectives The aim was to evaluate the patient safety climate among pharmacists working in Swedish community pharmacies and compare it with historical data. Design The patient safety climate among pharmacists was analysed in two cross-sectional surveys. Historical data from 2008 and data collected in 2022 were compared. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), containing items on safety culture arranged in six dimensions, was used in both surveys. It uses a 5-point Likert scale to create a quantitative description of the respondents' perception of patient safety climate. Setting Community pharmacies in Sweden. Participants These surveys were census studies because all pharmacists working in community pharmacies in Sweden were invited to participate and no sampling occurred. Results The number of respondents was 2738 in 2008 and 1931 in 2022. The patient safety climate in Swedish community pharmacies appears to have worsened between 2008 and 2022 according to the pharmacists. All values of the dimensions included in the SAQ have decreased, except for the dimension of Stress Recognition, where an increase indicated a larger awareness among the pharmacists of how stress impacts their work. The overall negative trend in SAQ values seen between 2008 and 2022 was consistent, irrespective of the respondent's level of education, their role in the pharmacy or the number of years since their education was completed. Conclusions The patient safety climate in community pharmacies in Sweden seems to have deteriorated. With an increasingly strained healthcare system, community pharmacists must be reliable defenders of patient safety, and it is essential to ensure that the climate in their workplace supports the important work being carried out.

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KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

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JO - BMJ Open

JF - BMJ Open

IS - 1

M1 - e088323

ER -

Measuring the patient safety climate in community pharmacies: an updated national survey

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