Nursing students' perception of patient safety culture and its contributing factors in Sichuan province , China

Patient safety is inherently linked to the quality of care provided. This study aimed to assess nursing students' perceptions toward patient safety culture in China, employing the Chinese version of the Safety perceptions Questionnaire (C-SAQ). By using the sample size from Krejci & Morgan (1970) with a confidence level of 95%, there are 332 nursing students in clinical practice at Sichuan Vocational College of Nursing, so the sample size is 271.A simple random sampling method was employed, using the student ID numbers of the entire grade cohort as the sampling frame, with participants selected via a computerized random number generator without replacement. In the end, 263 surveys were collected.The overall mean score for patient safety perception was 66.93±14.27, reflecting a medium-low level of awareness. Among the six dimensions of patient safety perception, the mean scores ranked from highest to lowest were:perceptions of management, working conditions, safety climate, job satisfaction, teamwork climate, and stress recognition. Notably, stress recognition scored the lowest, highlighting a critical area for improvement. The percentage of positive scores (≥75) was calculated for each item and domain to further identify specific strengths and weaknesses.Univariate analyses revealed that nursing students who had received formal patient safety education and those who had not encountered nursing errors during their clinical placements exhibited significantly more positive perceptions of patient safety (p < 0.05). Subsequent multivariate stepwise linear regression analyses identified key demographic factors influencing patient safety perceptions, including weekly working hours, prior patient safety education, and the occurrence of nursing error incidents. Pearson’s correlation analyses demonstrated significant associations between the dimensions of patient safety perceptions and the total perception scores. These findings underscore the critical need to strengthen nursing students' understanding of patient safety culture. Among the six dimensions of patient safety perceptions, low scores in stress perception highlight the necessity of addressing occupational stress in clinical teaching hospitals and implementing effective stress management interventions. Such measures may enhance patient safety perceptions and, ultimately, improve the quality of care delivered by future nurses.