Patient Safety

Phase 1 and 2: In Detail

Phase 1 Procedures

In Fall 2005, we conducted 10 focus groups in 5 acute care hospitals in Ontario. A typology of Patient Safety Events emerged from this work. [see Publications page]
In Spring 2006, we organized an expert panel consisting of practitioners and academics to discuss and develop a typology of learning behavior and responses for these types of events. [see Publications page]
This work was used to help structure the phase 2 survey.

Phase 2 Procedures

In phase 2 we used cross-sectional surveys to test a model of the factors that influence learning from safety failures. The model is rooted in literature from organizational learning, organization theory, and healthcare quality and safety.
The model was tested using surveys of approximately 3,000 front-line staff, managers, and patient safety officers in acute hospitals in Ontario, complemented by secondary data on organizational characteristics from the Ontario Hospital Reporting System (OHRS) dataset.
All acute care hospitals in Ontario were invited to participate in the survey and 65% agreed to participate.
The Phase 2 model is illustrated below:

This page was updated on March 01 2010.