Towards a safety culture in chiropractic: The use of the safety, communication, Operational Reliability, and engagement (SCORE) questionnaire

Abstract

Objective: To assess the attitudes, practices and other contributing factors to patient safety among chiropractors.

Methods: In addition to obtaining socio-demographic and practitioner/practice characteristics, we utilized the Safety, Communication, Operational Reliability, and Engagement (SCORE) questionnaire. To identify variables contributing to improved safety climate and lower burnout, we performed a random forest analysis.

Results: A convenience sample of 154 chiropractor responders (Female = 115; Male = 39) comprised our study population. The majority were between 26 and 35 years of age with an average practice experience of 11.1 years. The variables of importance predictive for a safety climate were participating in decision making, teamwork, local leadership and improvement readiness. For burnout, workload, growth opportunities, teamwork climate, safety climate and work-life balance were highly influential.

Conclusion: We successfully utilized the SCORE instrument to measure safety climate in chiropractic. We identified those variables important to contributing to patient safety and mitigating burnout in the workplace.

Keywords: Chiropractic; SCORE survey; Safety culture.