J Dent Educ. 72(4): 431-437 2008
© 2008 American Dental Education Association
Milieu in Dental School and Practice |
Attitudes Toward Patient Safety Standards in U.S. Dental Schools: A Pilot Study
Peggy Leong, D.M.D., M.B.A.;
Jay Afrow, D.M.D., M.H.A.;
Hans Peter Weber, D.M.D.;
Howard Howell, D.D.S.
Key words: patient safety, survey, dental schools, hospital benchmarks
Submitted for publication 06/06/06;
accepted 12/03/07
The objective of this study was to assess the patient safety culture among students, staff, and faculty in seven U.S. dental school clinics when compared to those from a similar study in twenty U.S. hospitals. A survey on patient safety culture developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) was used to measure attitudes towards patient safety by anonymous faculty, students, and support staff members who work in the clinics of seven U.S. dental schools. This survey instrument was also administered to staff at twenty U.S. hospitals. In three of the twelve sections of the survey (Overall Perceptions of Safety, Management Support for Patient Safety, and Teamwork Across Units), dental school personnel responses rated above the hospital benchmark results. In Section 2 (Frequency of Adverse Events Reported) and Section 4 (Organizational Learning/ Continuous Improvement), average dental school responses were below those recorded for hospital personnel. The overall score from the twelve sections of the survey indicated that patient safety attitudes of dental school participants were higher than those of their hospital counterparts.
Copyright © 2008 by the American Dental Education Association.
