Safety culture in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: contributions from the multiprofessional team

Abstract Objectives: to analyze the patient safety culture with the multidisciplinary team in a neonatal ICU at a Brazilian maternity. Methods: the safety culture was evaluated by the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC), with a sample of 117 professionals. The questions were divided into 12 domains, classifying them as areas of strength when the percentage was higher than 75% of positive responses. For inferential analysis, Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-square tests were used, considering significant p<0.05 values. Results: the domains ‘organizational learning- continuous improvement’ and ‘teamwork’ were considered as areas of strength in establishing security. Those who needed improvement were: ‘non-punitive response to error’ and ‘staffing’. There was no significant relevance between the crossings of the numbers of positive responses with the professional data, thus showing that the factors did not interfere in the answers given. Conclusions: in view of the results presented, changes are suggested mainly in the aspects related to punitive culture and evaluation of possible reduction of work overload. However, we cannot fail to praise the positive aspects found, such as teamwork, the concern of professionals and managers to bring improvements to promote patient safety.