Previous Announcements About SOPS Surveys
AHRQ is seeking nursing homes to participate in a pilot study of Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Nursing Home Survey. The new supplemental item set focuses on the extent to which nursing homes’ organizational culture supports the safety of staff in the workplace. Eligible nursing homes may receive an incentive for their participation in the pilot test. If selected, participating nursing homes will receive:
- Free survey administration of the SOPS Nursing Home Survey with the Workplace Safety Supplemental Items to nursing home staff in July/August 2022.
- Feedback reports comparing their results to other pilot sites.
- The option to have findings included in the next SOPS Nursing Home Database.
In November of 2021, AHRQ released the Surveys on Patient Safety™ (SOPS®) Workplace Safety Supplemental Items. The supplemental items assess the extent to which the hospital’s organizational culture supports workplace safety for providers and staff.
Hospitals can administer the items at the end of the SOPS Hospital Survey 2.0, just before the background questions. Data from the supplemental items may be submitted along with SOPS Hospital Survey data during the next Database submission period, June 1 – July 22, 2022.
In October 2021, AHRQ released the new Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for the SOPS Hospital Survey. Hospitals can use the survey item set as a supplement to the Hospital Survey to assess the extent to which the organizational culture supports workplace safety for providers and staff. Speakers provided background on the importance of workplace safety, an overview of the development of the item set, and results from a pilot test in 28 hospitals and shared resources available for users.
Learn more about the Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for Hospital SOPS.
Select to access a recording of the webcast and presentation slides.
In April of 2021, AHRQ released the Surveys On Patient Safety™ (SOPS®) Diagnostic Safety Supplemental Items. The supplemental items assess the extent to which a medical office’s culture supports the diagnostic process, accurate diagnoses, and communication around diagnoses.
Medical offices can administer the items at the end of the SOPS Medical Office Survey, just before the Background Questions.
In April 2021, AHRQ released the new Diagnostic Safety Supplemental Item Sets for the SOPS Medical Office Survey. Medical offices can use the survey item set as a supplement to the Medical Office Survey to assess the extent to which the organizational culture supports the diagnostic process, accurate diagnoses, and communication around diagnoses. Speakers provided background on the importance of diagnostic safety, an overview of the development of the item set, and results from a pilot test in 66 medical offices and shared resources available for users.
Learn more about the Diagnostic Safety Supplemental Item Set for Medical Office SOPS.
Select to access a recording of the webcast and presentation slides.
To address emerging needs, AHRQ is developing and pilot testing supplemental items on workplace safety that can be added to the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Hospital Survey. The Workplace Safety Supplemental Items address hospital organizational culture supporting workplace safety for providers and staff. Draft survey items under development assess:
- Provider and staff exposure to workplace hazards.
- Moving, transferring, or lifting patients.
- Workplace aggression.
- Supervisor and management support for workplace safety.
- Workplace safety and reporting; and
- Provider and staff work stress and burnout.
Hospital leadership can use the Workplace Safety Supplemental Items to:
- Raise awareness about provider and staff workplace safety;
- Assess workplace safety from the perspectives of providers and staff; and
- Identify strengths and aspects of provider and staff workplace safety in need of improvement.
Learn more about the new Workplace Safety Supplemental Items.
Videos developed to promote the use of AHRQ's Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) have won awards from groups that recognize excellence in communications.
Why Choose the AHRQ Surveys on Patient Safety Culture? and Why Submit Data to the AHRQ SOPS Databases? earned 2020 Communicator Awards for Excellence in Individual Nonprofit Online Videos, as well as 2020 Bronze Telly Awards in the Government Relations for Branded Content category.
These videos were funded by AHRQ and produced through a contract to Westat.
Whether and when to administer a SOPS survey. Rapid and unprecedented adaptations in healthcare delivery due to COVID-19 are having a tremendous impact on the healthcare workforce. Healthcare organizations that already administered one of the SOPS surveys before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic will be able to submit their SOPS data during the next relevant data submission period. However, organizations that have not yet administered SOPS, or have postponed SOPS survey administration, may be trying to decide when to assess patient safety culture.
Healthcare organizations should consider a variety of factors when deciding to administer a SOPS survey during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the following:
- Organizations may have other priorities at this time.
- Significant numbers of healthcare staff may not be working and those who are working may not have the ability or desire to complete a survey, resulting in lower response rates.
- Survey responses would likely be affected by COVID-related issues and concerns.
For organizations that want to wait to administer a SOPS survey, it is unclear when healthcare delivery processes and procedures will resume under a “new normal.” Other organizations may want to specifically assess the current impact of COVID-19 on patient safety culture to understand how culture has been affected and obtain feedback to inform future initiatives. However, survey instructions should be revised to acknowledge the challenges affecting providers and staff, asking them to focus on the culture during the COVID-19 timeframe, with the goal of better understanding the impact of COVID-19 on the organization’s patient safety culture.
Each organization will need to weigh these factors to determine when to assess patient safety culture.
Given the current changes in healthcare delivery and the burden on healthcare facilities in meeting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Program is providing information to help healthcare organizations:
- Decide how to proceed with SOPS survey administration and database submission.
- Add supplemental items.
- Request technical assistance support.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released the SOPS Hospital Survey 2.0. AHRQ developed and pilot tested the new version of the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) to update the original hospital survey and incorporate user feedback. The SOPS Hospital Survey 2.0 assesses many of the same areas of patient safety culture as Version 1.0, but substantial changes were made to the survey, including:
- Rewording complex survey items and survey items difficult to translate.
- Adding a “Does not apply/Don’t know” response option.
- Shifting to a “Just Culture” framework to assess Response to Error.
- Revising the staff positions and units/work areas.
Download the SOPS Hospital Survey 2.0 survey documents and resources, including a user’s guide and guidance for hospitals transitioning to the new version; access results from a 2019 Pilot Test of Version 2.0; and view frequently asked questions.
AHRQ is developing a supplemental item set on diagnostic safety for the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Medical Office Survey.
Goals of the Diagnostic Safety Supplemental Item Set
- Measuring the extent to which the organizational culture in medical offices supports the diagnostic process, accurate diagnoses, and communication around diagnoses.
- Raising awareness about the aspects of the diagnosis process that reflect an organization’s patient safety culture.
- Conducting research to assist in identifying processes and sources of error in diagnosis.
Development Process
The diagnostic safety supplemental items are following the standard SOPS survey development process:
- Review literature and existing surveys.
- Identify and convene Technical Expert Panel (TEP).
- Interview experts, providers, and staff.
- Identify key thematic areas.
- Develop and cognitively test draft items.
- Obtain input from TEP.
- Pilot test.
- Conduct psychometric analyses.
- Consult with TEP to finalize items.
