Patient Safety Beyond Hospitals: A Look at Patient Safety Culture in Nursing Homes

Patient safety has featured prominently on the health care agenda in recent years, but the majority of research has focused on the hospital setting rather than nursing homes. Using survey responses from a nationally representative sample of 2,840 nursing homes in the United States, this study examines patient safety culture in nursing homes, compares nursing home safety scores against hospital benchmark scores, and ascertains if and how the safety culture of nursing homes varies according to facility and market characteristics.