SOPS Announcements
This webcast introduced the new Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for AHRQ’s Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS) Nursing Home Survey. Speakers provided background on the importance of workplace safety in nursing homes, an overview of the supplemental item set, results from a pilot test in 48 nursing homes, and highlights from one healthcare organization’s experience.
Select for a recording of the webcast and presentation slides.
The Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Nursing Home Survey User Database Report is now available. The Database report includes 62 nursing homes and 3,224 staff respondents.
Review results:
- 2023 Nursing Home Survey Database Report (PDF, 3 MB)
- Executive Summary (PDF, 1 MB)
- Appendixes (PDF, 1 MB)
The AHRQ SOPS Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for Nursing Homes is now available. The new item set assesses staff perceptions of workplace safety, including protection from workplace hazards, addressing inappropriate resident behavior toward staff, interactions among staff, work stress/burnout, and overall rating.
Results from a pilot test (PDF, 3 MB) of the Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set in 48 U.S. nursing homes are also available.
Select to access a recording of the webcast and presentation slides.
This AHRQ webcast focused on use of the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Nursing Home Survey to assess and improve resident safety culture. Speakers described the importance of resident safety culture, the survey and its administration, and the benefits of participating in AHRQ’s SOPS Nursing Home Survey Database. An opportunity to participate in a pilot study of workplace safety supplemental items was also shared.
Select to access a recording of the webcast and presentation slides.
The AHRQ SOPS Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture User Database Report presents results from 1,100 U.S. medical offices. The 2022 user data report consists of a narrative description of the findings and two appendixes, presenting data by medical office characteristics (number of providers, single specialty vs. multispecialty, specialty, primary care specialty, ownership, and region) and respondent characteristics (staff position and tenure in medical office). The report contains data voluntarily submitted by participating medical offices and is not representative of all U.S. medical offices.
This AHRQ webcast provided an overview of the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Surveys. Speakers described the SOPS program, surveys, supplemental item sets, databases, and resources available to users and highlighted upcoming activities.
Select to access a recording of the webcast and presentation slides.
In November of 2021, AHRQ released the Surveys on Patient Safety™ (SOPS®) Workplace Safety Supplemental Items. The supplemental items assess the extent to which the hospital’s organizational culture supports workplace safety for providers and staff.
Hospitals can administer the items at the end of the SOPS Hospital Survey 2.0, just before the background questions. Data from the supplemental items may be submitted along with SOPS Hospital Survey data during the next Database submission period, June 1 – July 22, 2022.
In October 2021, AHRQ released the new Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for the SOPS Hospital Survey. Hospitals can use the survey item set as a supplement to the Hospital Survey to assess the extent to which the organizational culture supports workplace safety for providers and staff. Speakers provided background on the importance of workplace safety, an overview of the development of the item set, and results from a pilot test in 28 hospitals and shared resources available for users.
Learn more about the Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for Hospital SOPS.
Select to access a recording of the webcast and presentation slides.
In April of 2021, AHRQ released the Surveys On Patient Safety™ (SOPS®) Diagnostic Safety Supplemental Items. The supplemental items assess the extent to which a medical office’s culture supports the diagnostic process, accurate diagnoses, and communication around diagnoses.
Medical offices can administer the items at the end of the SOPS Medical Office Survey, just before the Background Questions.
In April 2021, AHRQ released the new Diagnostic Safety Supplemental Item Sets for the SOPS Medical Office Survey. Medical offices can use the survey item set as a supplement to the Medical Office Survey to assess the extent to which the organizational culture supports the diagnostic process, accurate diagnoses, and communication around diagnoses. Speakers provided background on the importance of diagnostic safety, an overview of the development of the item set, and results from a pilot test in 66 medical offices and shared resources available for users.
Learn more about the Diagnostic Safety Supplemental Item Set for Medical Office SOPS.
Select to access a recording of the webcast and presentation slides.
Whether and when to administer a SOPS survey. Rapid and unprecedented adaptations in healthcare delivery due to COVID-19 are having a tremendous impact on the healthcare workforce. Healthcare organizations that already administered one of the SOPS surveys before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic will be able to submit their SOPS data during the next relevant data submission period. However, organizations that have not yet administered SOPS, or have postponed SOPS survey administration, may be trying to decide when to assess patient safety culture.
Healthcare organizations should consider a variety of factors when deciding to administer a SOPS survey during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the following:
- Organizations may have other priorities at this time.
- Significant numbers of healthcare staff may not be working and those who are working may not have the ability or desire to complete a survey, resulting in lower response rates.
- Survey responses would likely be affected by COVID-related issues and concerns.
For organizations that want to wait to administer a SOPS survey, it is unclear when healthcare delivery processes and procedures will resume under a “new normal.” Other organizations may want to specifically assess the current impact of COVID-19 on patient safety culture to understand how culture has been affected and obtain feedback to inform future initiatives. However, survey instructions should be revised to acknowledge the challenges affecting providers and staff, asking them to focus on the culture during the COVID-19 timeframe, with the goal of better understanding the impact of COVID-19 on the organization’s patient safety culture.
Each organization will need to weigh these factors to determine when to assess patient safety culture.
