Comparing safety climate for nurses working in operating theatres, critical care and ward areas in the UK: a mixed methods study

The main aim of the study was to explore the potential sources of variation and understand the meaning of safety climate for nursing practice in acute hospital settings in the UK.A sequential mixed methods design included a cross-sectional survey using the Safety Climate Questionnaire (SCQ) and thematic analysis of focus group discussions. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to validate the factor structure of the SCQ. Factor scores were compared between nurses working in operating theatres, critical care and ward areas. Results from the survey and the thematic analysis were then compared and synthesised.A London University.319 registered nurses working in acute hospital settings completed the SCQ and a further 23 nurses participated in focus groups.CFA indicated that there was a good model fit on some criteria (χ2=1683.699, df=824,