Validation of a Novel Safety Climate Instrument in VHA Nursing Homes. (August 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hartmann, Christine W.; Meterko, Mark; Zhao, Shibei; Palmer, Jennifer A.; Berlowitz, Dan
• Is Part Of: Medical care research and review. Volume 70:Number 4(2013)
• Page Start: 400
• Page End: 417
• Publication Date: 2013-08
• Subjects: nursing homes -- patient safety -- health care surveys -- questionnaires -- reproducibility of results; Medical care -- United States -- Periodicals; Medical care -- Periodicals; Medical care -- Research -- United States -- Periodicals; Medical care -- Research -- Periodicals; Medical economics -- United States -- Periodicals; Medical economics -- Periodicals; 362.10973
• DOI: 10.1177/1077558712474349
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1077-5587

Abstract

Improvements in nursing home safety climate could lead to enhanced resident safety. Yet safety climate has been little studied in the nursing home setting, and existing safety climate instruments have significant limitations. To investigate safety climate in Veterans Health Affairs nursing homes (Community Living Centers [CLCs]), this study had two objectives: (a) to develop a resident safety climate instrument for use in CLCs and (b) to assess this instrument's psychometric properties by administering it in a sample of CLCs. Using a standard conceptual framework, the CLC Employee Survey of Attitudes about Resident Safety was developed with the aid of an expert panel and multiple rounds of cognitive interviews. It was subsequently pilot tested in a sample of CLC employees. After refinement based on the pilot results, it was administered in a sample of five CLCs, where it was found to have adequate reliability and validity.