Identifying tools, metrics, and measures for physical, psychological, and/or cultural safety in healthcare settings

In Canada and elsewhere, there continues to be variability and gaps in physical, psychological and cultural safety in healthcare learning and practice environments, which can negatively contribute to the health and well-being of health workers, as well as organizational performance and clinical outcomes. To help advance their efforts to support progress in this area, the McMaster Health Forum was engaged by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in 2023 to prepare a rapid evidence profile (REP) that sought to summarize what is known – based on the best-available evidence and experiences from Canadian and international jurisdictions – about the frameworks available and interventions used to ensure health professionals and caregivers practise in environments that are physically, psychologically and culturally safe. This REP was requested to complement that work by focusing on better understanding what is known about the tools, metrics, and measures that can be used to understand the state of physical, psychological, and cultural safety in healthcare settings, as well as whether and how efforts to learn and improve are having their desired effects in these domains.