Previous Announcements About SOPS Surveys
AHRQ is seeking nursing homes to participate in a pilot study of Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Nursing Home Survey. The new supplemental item set focuses on the extent to which nursing homes’ organizational culture supports the safety of staff in the workplace. Eligible nursing homes may receive an incentive for their participation in the pilot test. If selected, participating nursing homes will receive:
- Free survey administration of the SOPS Nursing Home Survey with the Workplace Safety Supplemental Items to nursing home staff in July/August 2022.
- Feedback reports comparing their results to other pilot sites.
- The option to have findings included in the next SOPS Nursing Home Database.
To address emerging needs, AHRQ is developing and pilot testing supplemental items on workplace safety that can be added to the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Hospital Survey. The Workplace Safety Supplemental Items address hospital organizational culture supporting workplace safety for providers and staff. Draft survey items under development assess:
- Provider and staff exposure to workplace hazards.
- Moving, transferring, or lifting patients.
- Workplace aggression.
- Supervisor and management support for workplace safety.
- Workplace safety and reporting; and
- Provider and staff work stress and burnout.
Hospital leadership can use the Workplace Safety Supplemental Items to:
- Raise awareness about provider and staff workplace safety;
- Assess workplace safety from the perspectives of providers and staff; and
- Identify strengths and aspects of provider and staff workplace safety in need of improvement.
Learn more about the new Workplace Safety Supplemental Items.
Videos developed to promote the use of AHRQ's Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) have won awards from groups that recognize excellence in communications.
Why Choose the AHRQ Surveys on Patient Safety Culture? and Why Submit Data to the AHRQ SOPS Databases? earned 2020 Communicator Awards for Excellence in Individual Nonprofit Online Videos, as well as 2020 Bronze Telly Awards in the Government Relations for Branded Content category.
These videos were funded by AHRQ and produced through a contract to Westat.
Given the current changes in healthcare delivery and the burden on healthcare facilities in meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Program is providing information to help healthcare organizations:
- Decide how to proceed with SOPS survey administration and database submission.
- Add supplemental items.
- Request technical assistance support.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released the SOPS Hospital Survey 2.0. AHRQ developed and pilot tested the new version of the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) to update the original hospital survey and incorporate user feedback. The SOPS Hospital Survey 2.0 assesses many of the same areas of patient safety culture as Version 1.0, but substantial changes were made to the survey, including:
- Rewording complex survey items and survey items difficult to translate.
- Adding a “Does not apply/Don’t know” response option.
- Shifting to a “Just Culture” framework to assess Response to Error.
- Revising the staff positions and units/work areas.
Download the SOPS Hospital Survey 2.0 survey documents and resources, including a user’s guide and guidance for hospitals transitioning to the new version; access results from a 2019 Pilot Test of Version 2.0; and view frequently asked questions.
AHRQ is developing a supplemental item set on diagnostic safety for the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Medical Office Survey.
Goals of the Diagnostic Safety Supplemental Item Set
- Measuring the extent to which the organizational culture in medical offices supports the diagnostic process, accurate diagnoses, and communication around diagnoses.
- Raising awareness about the aspects of the diagnosis process that reflect an organization’s patient safety culture.
- Conducting research to assist in identifying processes and sources of error in diagnosis.
Development Process
The diagnostic safety supplemental items are following the standard SOPS survey development process:
- Review literature and existing surveys.
- Identify and convene Technical Expert Panel (TEP).
- Interview experts, providers, and staff.
- Identify key thematic areas.
- Develop and cognitively test draft items.
- Obtain input from TEP.
- Pilot test.
- Conduct psychometric analyses.
- Consult with TEP to finalize items.
