Measuring and improving organisational safety culture
Aged care has been challenged by quality and safety issues, and organisational culture is frequently highlighted as a contributing factor. However, tools to measure culture, and evidence to support its improvement, are lacking.
Full project name: Building a culture of safety in Australian residential aged care facilities
Project sponsor: National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant
About the project
Aged care in Australia is complex and expanding. The sector is the subject of intense scrutiny due to problems in the safety and quality of care provided to residents in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). Many failings have been attributed to poor organisational culture, including:
- toxic cultures
- a focus on box-ticking instead of quality
- limited respect for residents.
However, unlike hospitals, culture in RACFs has been little studied.
Methods to measure culture, particularly in relation to safety, have not been adapted for Australian RACFs. There has been a dearth of mixed-method, longitudinal research to understand how aspects of organisational culture influence safety and quality in RACFs. This is urgently required to diagnose problems in safety and quality in Australian RACFs and develop evidence-based interventions to improve culture.
This research is conducted in collaboration with a large national provider of residential aged care services and will involve mixed methods including:
- surveys
- ethnographic fieldwork
- interviews.
Project goals
The overarching aims of this research program are to examine how organisational culture and context influence safety and quality in RACFs and to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of an evidence-based culture change intervention.
As part of this work, we aim to deliver:
- a safety culture assessment tool validated for the context of Australian residential aged care
- guidance on adapting and implementing culture change programs for this setting.
Chief Investigator: Dr Kate Churruca
Macquarie University Steering Committee members
- Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite
- Associate Professor Louise Ellis
- Professor Peter Hibbert
- Dr Isabelle Meulenbroeks
- Dr Rachel Urwin
- Dr Nasir Wabe
- Professor Johanna Westbrook
Senior staff members of the aged care provider also act as members of the steering committee.