THE CULTURE REGARDING THE SAFETY OF THE PATIENT IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE: DISTINCTIONS AMONG PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES

Abstract The study that originated the present article had the goal of analyzing the culture of patient safety in primary health care in a large municipality in the state of Paraná, Brazil, according to the professional category. We conducted a cross-sectional study with primary health care workers, and the data was collected in 2017 through the application of a self-reported instrument called Survey on Patient Safety Culture for Primary Health Care (Pesquisa sobre Cultura de Segurança do Paciente para Atenção Primária, in Portuguese). The results indicated that the work process in each service where they work and the support from the managers were the dimensions of the safety culture that had the weakest evaluations. In general, there were differences of opinions regarding the perception of the safety culture on the part of the primary health care professionals, indicating the importance of the joint planning of health care strategies. The nurse technicians revealed a higher prevalence of weak evaluations of patient safety culture. On the other hand, the nurses revealed a lower prevalence of weak evaluations regarding safety culture.