Attitudes toward patients’ safety among healthcare professionals in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study

This research aims to investigate healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) attitudes towards patient safety and to explore the role of various work-related factors that could be the barriers to safety-events reporting to modify these attitudes. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, involving 629 HCPs who are working across health care sectors in the United Arab Emirates. HCPs in the United Arab Emirates, comprising 71.5% women and 27.8% men, displayed a generally positive attitude towards patient safety (mean score = 3.91). Sub-comparisons indicated high scores for team functioning (4.58 ± 0.62) and low scores for professional incompetence as an error cause (2.86 ± 0.50). Common barriers to reporting safety events included uncertainty about procedures and fear of retribution. Confidence in reporting correlated with higher scores, while fear of reprisal yielded lower scores. Varied perceptions of medical errors’ implications were noted. Clear reporting procedures and event definitions impacted safety attitudes significantly. The study’s findings indicate an overall positive attitude towards patient safety among healthcare professionals. Promoting clear reporting protocols, addressing fear of reprisal, and providing ongoing education can improve patient safety attitudes. Longitudinal research should further explore these dynamics for sustained improvements in healthcare safety culture. These results emphasize the importance of integrating patient safety education into medical training programs.