SOPS Nursing Home Survey

AHRQ released the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture® (SOPS®) Nursing Home Survey to assess staff perceptions about patient safety culture in their nursing home in 2008. In 2025, AHRQ released a new version, the SOPS Nursing Home Survey 2.0. This new version removed all negatively worded items, shortened the survey from 44 items to 25 items (12 composite measures in 1.0 compared to 8 composite measures in 2.0), added items or revised item wording, added a new composite measure, “Speaking Up,” and updated the background questions. The original survey—Version 1.0—is still available; however, the use of Version 2.0 is encouraged.

The survey is designed to be used in facilities that have long-term care beds or short stay beds or offer rehabilitation services, including nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities. It is not designed for use in independent living facilities, assisted living facilities, or community care facilities.

Information about submitting data to the database can be found on the SOPS Nursing Home Database page.

Nursing Home Survey 2.0 (released 2025)

Image shows Topics covered by the SOPS Nursing Home Survey. A composite measure is a grouping of two or more survey items that assess the same area of culture. The 12 composite measures and 42 survey items assessed in the SOPS Nursing Home Survey are: Teamwork (4 items) Staffing (4 items) Compliance With Procedures (3 items) Training & Skills (3 items) Nonpunitive Response to Mistakes (4 items) Handoffs (4 items) Feedback & Communication About Incidents (4 items) Communication Openness (3 items) Supervisor Expectations & Actions Promoting Resident Safety (3 items) Overall Perceptions of Resident Safety (3 items) Management Support for Resident Safety (3 items) Organizational Learning (4 items) Additional Measures: In addition to the composite measures, single item measures included assess: Overall Ratings (2 items) Background Questions (7 items).

Survey Forms

Core Survey

Nursing Home Survey 2.0—English (Word, 76 KB) (PDF, 403 KB).
Nursing Home Survey 2.0—Spanish (Word, 88 KB) (PDF, 308 KB).

Survey Items and Composite Measures

Nursing Home Survey 2.0 Items and Composite Measures—English (PDF, 225 KB).
Nursing Home Survey Items 2.0 Items and Composite Measures—Spanish and Description of Translation Process (PDF, 127 KB).

Survey Guidance

Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture Version 2.0: User's Guide (PDF, 1 MB). The User's Guide includes information on getting started, selecting a sample, administering web-based and paper surveys, and analyzing data. •
Crosswalk Between the SOPS Nursing Home Survey Version 2.0 and 1.0 Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture Version 1.0 and 2.0 Crosswalk (PDF, 262 KB). This document outlines the difference between the SOPS Nursing Home Survey Versions 1.0 and 2.0 to help survey users understand what was changed in the newer Version 2.0 (released in 2025).
Frequently Asked Questions About the SOPS Nursing Home Survey 2.0.

Supplemental Items

Workplace Safety Supplemental Items for SOPS Nursing Home Survey.