Patient safety culture in hospitals within the nursing perspective.

Objective: Evaluate the atmosphere regarding patient safety from the perspective of active nurses in hospitals in a country town of Rio Grande do Sul State.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with 637 nursing professionals from two hospitals. Data collection through Safety Attitudes Questionnaire, in the second half of 2014. Cutoff for positive assessment was ≥75 points.

Results: The scores for domains in the overall assessment were: 76 (team work atmosphere), 73 (safety atmosphere), 88 (job satisfaction), 59 (perceived stress), 66 (perception of unit management), 65 (perception of hospital management) and 80 (work conditions). When comparing averages between institutions, the private institution showed better working conditions.

Conclusions: Results can be used to plan and organize actions, given the low scores in relation to the safety atmosphere, management and stress perception.