Evaluate short‐term effects of the Patient Safety Improvement Corps (PSIC), an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality–sponsored program to train state teams in patient safety skills/tools, to assess its contribution to building a national infrastructure supporting effective patient safety practices.
Self‐reported information gathered from (1) group interviews at the end of each year; (2) individual telephone interviews 1 year later; (3) faxed information forms 2 years later.
Program evaluation of immediate and short‐term process and impact (use of skills/tools, information sharing, changes in practice).
Semistructured interviews; faxed forms.
One year after training, approximately half of Year 1 and 2 state agency representatives reported they had initiated or modified legislation to strengthen safe practices, and modified adverse event oversight procedures. Approximately three‐quarters of hospital representatives said training contributed to modifications to adverse event oversight procedures and promotion of patient safety culture. Two years posttraining, approximately three‐quarters of Year 1 trainees said they continued to use many skills/tools.
The PSIC contributed to building a national infrastructure supporting effective patient safety practices. Expanded training is needed to reach a larger fraction of the population for which this training is important.
