Step 2 – Implementing the Survey
This section provides guidance on how to implement a safety culture survey.
The SAQ short form is the preferred tool of the CEC because of its psychometric properties and extensive use in multiple health settings, both nationally and internationally. The SAQ is divided into six domains with each domain represented by between four to eight questions.
If you choose to use a different safety culture survey tool, the guidance provided can still support you to set up, communicate and debrief the safety culture measurement.
The online survey allows for several questions to be included for demographic analysis, for example profession, employment type, tenure. Although demographic questions cannot be edited, it is possible to turn them off or on in QARS if you wish to reduce the number of questions.
All other SAQ questions cannot be edited. This is to ensure the psychometric properties of the survey remain reliable and valid, thus ensuring confidence in the results. If using the paper format, the Safety Culture Lead will need to ensure that survey integrity is maintained and consider how it is distributed and collected.
How to Set up the SAQ in QARS Survey
QARS Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ): Survey ID: 3471
N.B. To access the survey, you will need to contact the LHD/SHN QARS Super Admin User.
If you decide to use the paper format you and your project team will need to consider and plan for:
- Who will ensure it is distributed and collected?
- How will you give people time to complete the SAQ?
- Are any permissions needed in your organisation?
- How will you collect paper versions - from collection boxes placed around the organisation?
- Can any immediate concerns identified be resolved or do they need to be escalated and if so, who to?
Response rates are crucial for the data to be representative of the safety culture in the organisation or team. The minimum threshold the CEC recommends for response rates to be representative is 30%. Staff should be encouraged to complete the survey, as every opinion is critical in forming an accurate reflection of the safety culture.
Achieving a high response rate is important for making valid generalisations about your organisation. In other words, there must be enough survey respondents to accurately represent your organisation before you can legitimately present your survey results as a reflection of your organisation’s safety climate.
- Response rates should represent at least 30% of staff
- For teams of less than eight, the SAQ is not an appropriate tool. Instead consider a facilitated discussion. This is to maintain confidentiality and reduce identification of respondents
- If you wish to dissect the results and create reports for the separate participant groups there must be at least eight respondents per group (e.g. for professional groups this means at least eight medical respondents, at least eight nursing respondents, etc.).
To calculate your survey response rate, divide the number of completed and returned surveys by the number of surveys sent (not including ineligible and undeliverable/return to sender surveys).
- Ensure your team know the survey is coming, why they are being asked to complete it and what the next steps are once the survey closes
- Have a clear timeframe for completion
- Send reminder e-mails, include in meeting agendas, reminders in newsletters and through other communication channels used by your organisation
- Have senior Executive / Sponsor mention the importance of completing survey at meetings/WalkArounds
- Make sure staff know that senior leadership are committed to understanding the current safety culture and to taking action.