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Building a safety culture in global health: lessons from Guatemala.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Rice, HE; Lou-Meda, R; Saxton, AT; Johnston, BE; Ramirez, CC; Mendez, S; Rice, EN; Aidar, B; Taicher, B; Baumgartner, JN; Milne, J; Sexton, JB ...
Published in: BMJ Glob Health
2018

Programmes to modify the safety culture have led to lasting improvements in patient safety and quality of care in high-income settings around the world, although their use in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) has been limited. This analysis explores (1) how to measure the safety culture using a health culture survey in an LMIC and (2) how to use survey data to develop targeted safety initiatives using a paediatric nephrology unit in Guatemala as a field test case. We used the Safety, Communication, Operational Reliability, and Engagement survey to assess staff views towards 13 health climate and engagement domains. Domains with low scores included personal burnout, local leadership, teamwork and work-life balance. We held a series of debriefings to implement interventions targeted towards areas of need as defined by the survey. Programmes included the use of morning briefings, expansion of staff break resources and use of teamwork tools. Implementation challenges included the need for education of leadership, limited resources and hierarchical work relationships. This report can serve as an operational guide for providers in LMICs for use of a health culture survey to promote a strong safety culture and to guide their quality improvement and safety programmes.

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Published In

BMJ Glob Health

DOI

ISSN

2059-7908

Publication Date

2018

Volume

3

Issue

2

Start / End Page

e000630

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • 4206 Public health
  • 4203 Health services and systems
 

Citation

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Chicago
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Rice, H. E., Lou-Meda, R., Saxton, A. T., Johnston, B. E., Ramirez, C. C., Mendez, S., … Sexton, J. B. (2018). Building a safety culture in global health: lessons from Guatemala. BMJ Glob Health, 3(2), e000630. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000630
Rice, Henry E., Randall Lou-Meda, Anthony T. Saxton, Bria E. Johnston, Carla C. Ramirez, Sindy Mendez, Eli N. Rice, et al. “Building a safety culture in global health: lessons from Guatemala.BMJ Glob Health 3, no. 2 (2018): e000630. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000630.
Rice HE, Lou-Meda R, Saxton AT, Johnston BE, Ramirez CC, Mendez S, et al. Building a safety culture in global health: lessons from Guatemala. BMJ Glob Health. 2018;3(2):e000630.
Rice, Henry E., et al. “Building a safety culture in global health: lessons from Guatemala.BMJ Glob Health, vol. 3, no. 2, 2018, p. e000630. Pubmed, doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000630.
Rice HE, Lou-Meda R, Saxton AT, Johnston BE, Ramirez CC, Mendez S, Rice EN, Aidar B, Taicher B, Baumgartner JN, Milne J, Frankel AS, Sexton JB. Building a safety culture in global health: lessons from Guatemala. BMJ Glob Health. 2018;3(2):e000630.

Published In

BMJ Glob Health

DOI

ISSN

2059-7908

Publication Date

2018

Volume

3

Issue

2

Start / End Page

e000630

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • 4206 Public health
  • 4203 Health services and systems