Shin-Ichi Izumi, MD, PhD, Yoshihito Furusawa, MD, PhD, Musashi Bansho, MS,
Itsushi Tonomura, BS
Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 8: 88-97, 2017
Purpose: To elucidate the relationship between patient
safety culture and communication skills (CS).
Methods: A CS training program based on coaching
theory was conducted at a university hospital, and the
relationship between the improvement of patient
safety culture and the improvement of CS before and
after training was analyzed. The trainees were 57 fulltime
staff members of the hospital. Each trainee
selected around five close coworkers (collaborators; a
total of 285). For seven months, the trainees received
class lessons via an audio conference system, and
at the same time conducted coaching interviews
with their collaborators. The collaborators assessed
the trainees’ CS and patient safety culture using
questionnaires before and after training.
Results: Excluding missing data, 259 subjects were
analyzed. The patient safety culture improved group
showed a higher degree of improvement in CS
regarding “suggestions/requests” compared to the
non-improved group. Furthermore, improvement of
the “suggestions/requests” skill was related to the
improvement of patient safety culture regarding
“supervisor/manager expectations and actions in
promoting safety” and “non-punitive response to
errors.”
Conclusion: The present results suggest that
improvement in “suggestions/requests” skill may be
associated with improvement in patient safety culture.
Key words: patient safety, coaching, organizational development, university hospital, multidisciplinary team care