About the SOPS Program

Since 2001, the AHRQ Surveys on Patient Safety Culture® (SOPS®) Program has supported AHRQ's mission by advancing the scientific understanding of patient safety culture in healthcare settings.

What Is Patient Safety Culture? 

Patient safety culture is an aspect of an organization's culture that supports and promotes patient safety. Patient safety culture refers to the beliefs, values, and norms that are shared by providers and staff throughout the organization that influence their actions and behaviors. 

What Does the SOPS Program Do? 

The SOPS Program conducts activities to understand, measure, and improve patient safety culture in healthcare settings. Program activities include:  

• Conducting research on patient safety culture. 
• Developing SOPS surveys, supplemental item sets, and informational materials about SOPS survey administration and data analysis. 
• Developing materials to design and implement initiatives for patient safety culture improvement. 
• Hosting voluntary databases to help organizations measure and track improvements in patient safety culture. 
• Providing technical assistance and education on administering the surveys, participating in the SOPS databases, and using the surveys for patient safety culture improvement.

Read the SOPS Program Brief: The SOPS® Program: Assessing Patient Safety Culture From a Provider and Staff Perspective (PDF, 493 KB).

What Are SOPS Surveys?

SOPS surveys enable healthcare organizations to assess how their providers and staff perceive various aspects of patient safety culture in five different settings: hospitals, medical offices, nursing homes, community pharmacies, and ambulatory surgery centers. 

Users of SOPS surveys have the option of incorporating additional questions, or supplemental item sets, to customize their questionnaires. Supplemental item sets are available for the SOPS Hospital, Medical Office, and Nursing Home surveys.

The SOPS surveys and supplemental item sets are publicly available for download and use. International users should contact SafetyCultureSurveys@westat.com for permission to use the surveys outside the United States.

How Are SOPS Surveys Used?

Healthcare organizations can use these survey assessment tools to: 

• Raise staff awareness about patient safety culture. 
• Assess the current status of patient safety culture. 
• Identify strengths and areas for patient safety culture improvement. 
• Examine trends in patient safety culture change over time. 
• Evaluate the cultural impact of patient safety initiatives and interventions. 

SOPS survey findings are typically reported to leadership, providers, and staff in healthcare organizations to support efforts to assess and improve their patient safety culture. Surveys are also sometimes used for incentive, accreditation, or value-based purchasing programs. AHRQ's collection of Impact Case Studies highlights successes of organizations using AHRQ's evidence-based tools and resources, including the SOPS Surveys. Learn more about these success stories for the SOPS Surveys.

What Are the SOPS Databases?

AHRQ established the SOPS Databases as central repositories for survey data from each of the SOPS surveys. Healthcare organizations that administer selected SOPS surveys can voluntarily submit their data to the appropriate database. 

View the video Why Submit Data to the AHRQ SOPS Databases?

Additional Information About the SOPS Program and Surveys

Using the SOPS name—Please refer to guidelines for using the SOPS name when referring to the program and its many products.

FAQs—Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) offer answers to more than 60 questions about the SOPS Program, surveys, and supplemental item sets.

Bibliography—The searchable SOPS bibliography lists numerous articles about the development of SOPS surveys and their use as a tool for assessing patient safety.

Additional Resources—The SOPS program offers resources to assist survey users, including improvement resource lists, an Action Planning Tool, and Data Entry and Analysis Tools.

Webcasts, Podcasts, and Announcements—Learn more about the AHRQ-sponsored webcasts, podcasts, and announcements on the SOPS program.

International Use—Learn more about international use of the SOPS surveys.

Contact Information—Contact the SOPS Program with questions or comments about the SOPS surveys or the SOPS Databases.

Announcement Email Updates—Sign up for SOPS subscription announcement email updates.