Associations between negative patient safety climate and infection prevention practices.

The relationships among positive perceptions of safety climate and better healthcare worker behaviors have been increasingly documented in the literature. The potential influence of negative perceptions is underexplored and has not been examined in relationship to infection prevention practices. We begin to address this gap using data collected as part of a multi-site, cross-sectional study. This brief report describes associations identified between negative perceptions of patient safety climate and standard precaution adherence of hospital-based nurses. • Negative perceptions of safety climate are linked with poor infection adherence. • Findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve safety climate. • Key areas include management support, expectations, error feedback and staffing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]