Validation of the Dutch language version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ-NL).
Abstract
As the first objective of caring for patients is to do no harm, patient safety is
a priority in delivering clinical care. An essential component of safe care in a clinical
department is its safety climate. Safety climate correlates with safety-specific behaviour,
injury rates, and accidents. Safety climate in healthcare can be assessed by the Safety
Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), which provides insight by scoring six dimensions: Teamwork
Climate, Job Satisfaction, Safety Climate, Stress Recognition, Working Conditions
and Perceptions of Management. The objective of this study was to assess the psychometric
properties of the Dutch language version of the SAQ in a variety of clinical departments
in Dutch hospitals.The Dutch version (SAQ-NL) of the SAQ was back translated, and
analyzed for semantic characteristics and content. From October 2010 to November 2015
SAQ-NL surveys were carried out in 17 departments in two university and seven large
non-university teaching hospitals in the Netherlands, prior to a Crew Resource Management
human factors intervention. Statistical analyses were used to examine response patterns,
mean scores, correlations, internal consistency reliability and model fit. Cronbach's
α's and inter-item correlations were calculated to examine internal consistency reliability.One
thousand three hundred fourteen completed questionnaires were returned from 2113 administered
to health care workers, resulting in a response rate of 62 %. Confirmatory Factor
Analysis revealed the 6-factor structure fit the data adequately. Response patterns
were similar for professional positions, departments, physicians and nurses, and university
and non-university teaching hospitals. The SAQ-NL showed strong internal consistency
(α = .87). Exploratory analysis revealed differences in scores on the SAQ dimensions
when comparing different professional positions, when comparing physicians to nurses
and when comparing university to non-university hospitals.The SAQ-NL demonstrated
good psychometric properties and is therefore a useful instrument to measure patient
safety climate in Dutch clinical work settings. As removal of one item resulted in
an increased reliability of the Working Conditions dimension, revision or deletion
of this item should be considered. The results from this study provide researchers
and practitioners with insight into safety climate in a variety of departments and
functional positions in Dutch hospitals.
Type
Journal articleSubject
HumansFactor Analysis, Statistical
Cross-Sectional Studies
Reproducibility of Results
Attitude of Health Personnel
Language
Psychometrics
Safety Management
Translations
Adult
Medical Staff, Hospital
Netherlands
Female
Male
Patient Safety
Surveys and Questionnaires
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19459Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1186/s12913-016-1648-3Publication Info
Haerkens, Marck Htm; van Leeuwen, Wouter; Sexton, J Bryan; Pickkers, Peter; & van
der Hoeven, Johannes G (2016). Validation of the Dutch language version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ-NL).
BMC health services research, 16(a). pp. 385. 10.1186/s12913-016-1648-3. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19459.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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John Bryan Sexton
Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

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