Improving Hospital Workplace Safety for Providers and Staff

In response to increased concern about the safety and well-being of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) contracted with Westat to develop survey items on workplace safety for the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Hospital Survey.

Westat has supported AHRQ’s SOPS program since 2001, including developing patient safety culture surveys that ask health care providers and staff about the extent to which their organizational culture supports patient safety.

The new workplace safety item set focuses on workplace hazards, workplace aggression, management support, and work stress/burnout. The survey items can be used by hospitals, health systems, and health services researchers to

• Raise awareness about workplace safety
• Assess the extent to which the organizational culture supports workplace safety for providers and staff
• Help identify strengths and opportunities for improvement

Joann Sorra, Ph.D., a Westat Associate Director and Project Director for the AHRQ contract noted, “Workplace safety and burnout are critical issues right now. While the SOPS surveys have focused on patient safety culture, it’s timely for this new item set to focus on the safety and well-being of health care providers and staff, which ultimately affects patient safety and quality of care.”

Learn more: Development, Pilot Study, and Psychometric Analysis of the AHRQ Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Workplace Safety Supplemental Items for Hospitals