Safety Climate Thermometer: Interview data on barriers and facilitators in implementing a new tool for surgical teams

Description: Thematic organization of interview answers, corresponding to manuscript 'Barriers and facilitators in implementing the Safety Climate Thermometer, a new tool for surgical teams'.

Background: Safety culture is a key determinant of patient safety in surgery. Existing measurement tools are often lengthy and offer limited guidance for team-level improvement. In Dutch healthcare, no widely accepted standard exists to discuss and improve safety culture on a team level. We argue a shift from measurement of safety culture to team-focused strategies for improvement is necessary.

Results: This study reports the first implementation of the Safety Climate Thermometer (SCT) in three surgical teams. The SCT enabled structured interprofessional discussions and led to practical improvement initiatives. Findings demonstrate that the SCT is very user-friendly, acceptable to many types of surgical professionals and adaptable across different surgical contexts. Barriers and facilitators of implementation were identified and guided recommendations for future use.

New insights: The SCT uniquely combines anonymous, online input with interprofessional team discussion, offering a practical, bottom-up alternative to traditional safety surveys. Insights from this pilot highlight key considerations for future use, including which teams are most suitable for SCT use and the importance of contextual factors like team cohesion, psychological safety and leadership. Positive effects of SCT use for healthcare professionals included successful local improvements and improved team cohesion and feeling heard.

Data access: Due to the sensitive nature of interview data, please request permission stating your research objective and proposed data sharing agreement to obtain this dataset, via: e.m.vanderlinde@umcutrecht.nl.