Safety Culture and Patient Safety Outcomes in East Asia: A Literature Review

This review examined associations between safety culture aspects and patient safety outcomes in East Asian hospitals and identified relevant research priorities. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines, 16 articles were identified for review. Patient safety nursing activity was the most commonly investigated outcome in relation to safety culture aspects. Among safety culture aspects, feedback and communication, frequency of event reporting, teamwork within units, and managers’ support for patient safety were most significantly related to patient safety outcomes. Areas for further research include the use of theory or theoretical frameworks, consensus upon the scoring strategies for computation of safety culture scores, and selecting appropriate units of analysis and statistical analyses. Finally, researchers should examine relations between unit-specific and nation-specific safety culture and patient safety outcomes, given the influence of cultural attitudes and behaviors on patient safety.