Patient safety culture: a narrative literature review by characteristics of the safety attitude questionnaire dimensions during COVID-19

Patient safety culture is defined as the perceptions of staff toward patient safety in their healthcare institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed excessive pressure on frontline healthcare workers. The aim of this narrative review is to explore the status of patient safety culture in healthcare organisations based on the findings of the Safety Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) during COVID-19. The review was carried out in four databases in 2022 using the search terms; safety culture, patient safety culture, safety climate, COVID-19 and safety attitude questionnaire. The search was limited to English-language articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The review identified that the job satisfaction dimension of patient safety culture was strong among all of the included studies with a range from 75 to 88%. The findings of this review may inform decision-makers to identify areas of weaknesses and strengths for patient safety culture in healthcare organisations, particularly during pandemics.