Table 3

Relationship between work environment, RN involvement in patient care, patient safety culture, work experience and the patient safety grade outcome

 Unadjusted (bivariate) modelsAdjusted (multivariate) models*
OR95% CIOR95% CI
Work environment (PES-NWI)
 Staffing and resource adequacy (four items)5.445.06 to 5.852.742.52 to 2.97
 Collegial nurse–physician relations (seven items)3.403.14 to 3.691.431.30 to 1.57
 Nurse manager ability, leadership and support of nurses (four items)4.504.18 to 4.841.491.36 to 1.63
RNs’ level of involvement in direct patient care
How would you describe your role in caring for most of the patients on your most recent shift?
 I provided most care myself vs I supervised the care by others and provided some myself1.161.06 to 1.271.151.04 to 1.27
 I provided most care myself vs I provided only limited care such as dressing changes or drug administration and most of the direct care was done by others1.281.13 to 1.441.191.04 to 1.35
 I supervised the care by others and provided some myself vs I provided only limited care such as dressing changes or drug administration and most of the direct care was done by others1.100.99 to 1.221.030.92 to 1.16
Patient safety culture
 Staff feel like their mistakes are held against them0.530.51 to 0.550.850.82 to 0.89
 Important patient care information is often lost during shift changes.0.410.39 to 0.430.650.61 to 0.68
 Things ‘fall between the cracks’ when transferring patients from one unit to another0.470.45 to 0.490.800.76 to 0.84
 Staff feel free to question the decisions or actions of those in authority.1.671.61 to 1.731.010.97 to 1.06
 In this unit, we discuss ways to prevent errors from happening again.2.242.14 to 2.351.271.20 to 1.35
 We are given feedback about changes put into place based on event reports.1.751.69 to 1.821.040.99 to 1.09
 The actions of hospital management show that patient safety is a top priority2.332.24 to 2.431.511.44 to 1.58
Work experience
 Work experience as a nurse (by increment of 5)1.071.05 to 1.091.010.98 to 1.04
  • *Adjustments were made for gender and education (not shown).

  • PES-NWI, Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index; RNs, registered nurse.