Purpose and Use of This Report

2007 Comparative Database Report

In response to requests from hospitals interested in comparing their results against other hospitals on the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) established the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture Comparative Database. In spring and summer 2006, U.S. hospitals that administered the AHRQ patient safety culture survey voluntarily submitted their data for inclusion in this new database. The 2007 database consists of data from 382 participating hospitals and 108,621 hospital staff respondents who completed the survey.

This report was developed as a tool for:

  • Comparison—To allow hospitals to compare their patient safety culture survey results against other hospitals in their ongoing efforts to establish, improve and maintain a culture of patient safety in their institutions.
  • Assessment and Learning—To provide data to hospitals to facilitate internal assessment and learning in the patient safety improvement process, rather than as a basis for determining punitive actions or for external judgment of hospital performance.
  • Supplemental Information—To provide supplemental information to help hospitals identify areas of strength and areas with potential for improvement in patient safety culture.

The main body of this report, Part I: Comparative Database Report, presents statistics (averages, standard deviations, minimum and maximum scores, and percentiles) on the patient safety culture areas or composites assessed in the survey, as well as the survey's individual items. In addition, Part II of the report presents averages for breakouts of the data by hospital and respondent characteristics.

Following this narrative report are Appendixes A and B:

Appendix A—Results by Hospital Characteristics

  • Bed size.
  • Teaching status.
  • Ownership and control.
  • Geographic region.

Appendix B—Results by Respondent Characteristics

  • Work area/unit.
  • Staff position.
  • Interaction with patients.

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Page last reviewed December 2012
Internet Citation: Purpose and Use of This Report: 2007 Comparative Database Report. December 2012. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. https://archive.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/patientsafetyculture/hospital/2007/hospdbpurp.html