Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Willaim Disch

Abstract

Studies have found links between physician relationships with nurses, patient safety culture, and patient outcomes, but less is known about a similar link between physician relationships with allied health professionals (AHPs), patient safety culture, and patient outcomes. The purpose of this exploratory quantitative, survey study was to investigate whether physician interactions with AHPs contribute to improved patient-safety culture, AHP empowerment, and self-efficacy. Based on a theoretical framework consisting of structural empowerment, psychological empowerment, and self-efficacy, it was hypothesized that self-efficacy is predicted by structural and psychological empowerment and self-efficacy predicts a positive patient safety culture. The AHP Survey of Physician Collaboration was constructed using psychometrically sound items from instruments that have studied similar phenomena. A purposive sample with 95 respondents consisted of occupational and physical therapists currently working in hospitals. Pearson Product-Moment correlation, standard multiple regression analysis, independent groups t-tests, and one-way between groups analyses of variance were employed. Although the survey results did not indicate a statistically significant relationship between psychological empowerment and patient-safety culture, findings in this study indicated that patient-safety culture has a significant positive correlation with structural empowerment and self-efficacy. Structural empowerment and self-efficacy were found to significantly predict patient-safety culture. The results did not show differences based on gender, profession, age, or years of service. By illustrating the nature of the relationship between physicians and AHPs, the results of this study can affect social change through enhancing the ability to reduce the number of preventable negative health outcomes in hospitals.

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