RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Identifying the level of culture and awareness on patient safety is essential in order to improve the quality of care. The objective of our research was to assess patient safety culture in healthcare professionals. METHODS: Derived from the implementation of a survey on patient safety to 174 health professionals, data related to demographic characteristics were analyzed. Scores were determined on the 12 dimensions of the scale including additional items on perception and degree of overall patient safety, frequency and number of events reported, as well as Cronbach's alpha for the different dimensions. Descriptive statistics were used. RESULTS: Overall perception on safety was 51%. The lowest dimension was communication openness (38%), whereas organizational learning had the highest scores (68%). Analysis showed low Cronbach's alpha for dimensions of overall perception on safety (0.35), non-punitive response to error (0.55) and staff allocation (0.12). CONCLUSIONS: A low overall perception on patient safety indicates the need for increased institutional actions for improvement. Low Cronbach's alpha in some measurements may suggest the need for adjustments to the instrument. Results on the overall perception on patient safety, nonpunitive response to error and staff allocation (staffing) should be interpreted with caution, given the low reliability of such dimensions.