Knowledge, perception and attitude of patient safety amongst clinical year physiotherapy students in Ghana.
Samuel-Jerry S Atakora, Jonathan Quartey, Samuel K Kwakye
PMID 33824919WHAT IT FOUND
Clinical year physiotherapy students in Ghana reported moderate knowledge of patient safety overall.
They showed high confidence in workplace safety protocols but moderate understanding of personal influence and error reporting. Level of study did not change these results. Students noted fear of criticism when making mistakes.
Key findings
01The majority of students demonstrated a moderate level of overall knowledge regarding patient safety.
02Students' level of study (third or fourth year) was not significantly associated with their knowledge scores on patient safety.
03While students believed physiotherapists were committed to safety risks, they disagreed that they would not be criticised for making mistakes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study used convenience sampling, which may not represent all physiotherapy students in Ghana. The sample size was small (n=80) and restricted to two universities. The questionnaire was adapted from a medical/nursing context, which may not fully capture physiotherapy-specific safety nuances. Self-reported knowledge may not reflect actual clinical competence or behaviour in real-world safety scenarios.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of difference between third and fourth year students as evidence that clinical experience does not improve safety knowledge. The study measured self-reported knowledge via a survey, not observed clinical performance, and the curriculum did not formally teach patient safety, meaning both groups relied on similar informal exposure.