SAFETY CULTURE
HCPs' perception of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist and psychological safety
Kjestine Emilie Møller, Olivia Wisborg McLeskey, Susanne Rosthøj, Patricia Trbovich, Teodor Grantcharov, Jette Led Sorensen, Jeanett Strandbygaard
Published by
Overview
This cross-sectional survey explored the relationship between healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) perceptions of the World Health Organization’s Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) and their levels of psychological safety in the operating room. Although the SSC is a widely adopted tool to enhance communication and reduce errors during surgery, little is known about how psychological safety influences HCPs’ engagement with the checklist. By surveying 100 HCPs across five professional groups, the study aimed to assess whether viewing the checklist positively is linked to greater psychological safety, a key factor in promoting open communication and collaboration during surgical procedures.
Results
Out of 125 invited participants, 107 responded and 100 completed the survey. The analysis revealed that psychological safety significantly increased with more favorable perceptions of the SSC. Specifically, psychological safety rose with the belief that colleagues listen during checklist reviews (increase of 1.25; 95% CI 0.36 to 2.14; p=0.006), that the checklist enhances interdisciplinary teamwork (increase of 1.1; 95% CI 0.4 to 1.7; p=0.002), and that it brings structure to the operating room (increase of 0.86; 95% CI 0.15 to 1.57; p=0.02). In contrast, viewing the checklist as time-consuming was associated with a significant decrease in psychological safety (decrease of 1.4; 95% CI 0.5 to 2.3; p=0.004). These results highlight a clear association between the perceived value of the SSC and the psychological safety experienced by HCPs.
Elevate your entire health system.
Deploy the definitive architecture for procedural ambient AI.
![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg display="block" id="2881133306" role="presentation" viewBox="0 0 60 60" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g d="M 0 60 L 0 0 L 60 0 L 60 60 Z M 55.559 0 L 4.43 0 C 1.98 0 0 1.934 0 4.324 L 0 55.664 C 0 58.055 1.98 60 4.43 60 L 55.559 60 C 58.008 60 60 58.055 60 55.676 L 60 4.324 C 60 1.934 58.008 0 55.559 0 Z M 17.801 51.129 L 8.895 51.129 L 8.895 22.488 L 17.801 22.488 Z M 13.348 18.586 C 10.488 18.586 8.18 16.277 8.18 13.43 C 8.18 10.582 10.488 8.273 13.348 8.273 C 16.195 8.273 18.504 10.582 18.504 13.43 C 18.504 16.266 16.195 18.586 13.348 18.586 Z M 51.129 51.129 L 42.234 51.129 L 42.234 37.207 C 42.234 33.891 42.176 29.613 37.606 29.613 C 32.977 29.613 32.273 33.234 32.273 36.973 L 32.273 51.129 L 23.391 51.129 L 23.391 22.488 L 31.922 22.488 L 31.922 26.402 L 32.039 26.402 C 33.223 24.152 36.129 21.774 40.453 21.774 C 49.465 21.774 51.129 27.703 51.129 35.414 L 51.129 51.129 Z" fill="transparent" height="60px" id="ERfiV063h" width="60px"><path d="M 0 60 L 0 0 L 60 0 L 60 60 Z" fill="transparent" height="60px" id="uWF_hVoEJ" width="60px"/><path d="M 55.559 0 L 4.43 0 C 1.98 0 0 1.934 0 4.324 L 0 55.664 C 0 58.055 1.98 60 4.43 60 L 55.559 60 C 58.008 60 60 58.055 60 55.676 L 60 4.324 C 60 1.934 58.008 0 55.559 0 Z M 17.801 51.129 L 8.895 51.129 L 8.895 22.488 L 17.801 22.488 Z M 13.348 18.586 C 10.488 18.586 8.18 16.277 8.18 13.43 C 8.18 10.582 10.488 8.273 13.348 8.273 C 16.195 8.273 18.504 10.582 18.504 13.43 C 18.504 16.266 16.195 18.586 13.348 18.586 Z M 51.129 51.129 L 42.234 51.129 L 42.234 37.207 C 42.234 33.891 42.176 29.613 37.606 29.613 C 32.977 29.613 32.273 33.234 32.273 36.973 L 32.273 51.129 L 23.391 51.129 L 23.391 22.488 L 31.922 22.488 L 31.922 26.402 L 32.039 26.402 C 33.223 24.152 36.129 21.774 40.453 21.774 C 49.465 21.774 51.129 27.703 51.129 35.414 L 51.129 51.129 Z" fill="rgb(26, 26, 26)" height="60px" id="AlU7f1NCE" width="60px"/></g></svg>)
![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg display="block" id="2443111391" role="presentation" viewBox="0 0 60 60" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M 59.402 9.105 C 59.402 9.105 58.816 4.969 57.012 3.152 C 54.727 0.762 52.172 0.75 51 0.609 C 42.609 0 30.012 0 30.012 0 L 29.988 0 C 29.988 0 17.391 0 9 0.609 C 7.828 0.75 5.273 0.762 2.988 3.152 C 1.184 4.969 0.609 9.105 0.609 9.105 C 0.609 9.105 0 13.969 0 18.82 L 0 23.367 C 0 28.219 0.598 33.082 0.598 33.082 C 0.598 33.082 1.184 37.219 2.977 39.035 C 5.262 41.426 8.262 41.344 9.598 41.602 C 14.402 42.059 30 42.199 30 42.199 C 30 42.199 42.609 42.176 51 41.578 C 52.172 41.437 54.727 41.426 57.012 39.035 C 58.816 37.219 59.402 33.082 59.402 33.082 C 59.402 33.082 60 28.23 60 23.367 L 60 18.82 C 60 13.969 59.402 9.105 59.402 9.105 Z M 23.801 28.887 L 23.801 12.023 L 40.008 20.484 Z" fill="rgb(26, 26, 26)" height="42.19922500000003px" id="mvKSJX2cx" transform="translate(0 8.895)" width="60px"/></svg>)
![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg display="block" id="47934840" role="presentation" viewBox="0 0 60 60" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M 43.316 0 L 51.749 0 L 33.324 21.059 L 55 49.715 L 38.028 49.715 L 24.735 32.335 L 9.525 49.715 L 1.086 49.715 L 20.794 27.19 L 0 0 L 17.403 0 L 29.419 15.886 Z M 40.356 44.667 L 45.029 44.667 L 14.863 4.783 L 9.849 4.783 Z" fill="rgb(26, 26, 26)" height="49.714924999999965px" id="gglv1BD3I" transform="translate(2.5 4.76)" width="55px"/></svg>)