PURPOSE: Patient safety is an important element in ensuring quality of patient care and accreditation. This study aimed to assess the perception of patient safety culture among the healthcare providers; assess the areas of strength and improvement related to patient safety culture; and assess the relationship between patient safety culture and demographic variables of the sample. METHOD: Descriptive correlational design was employed in this study. Data was collected using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSPSC). A stratified random sample of 158 healthcare providers from the Diwan of Royal Court Health Complex in Muscat participated in this study. RESULTS: The findings of this study indicated that most of the participants responded positively to the HSPSC items. The average percentage of positive responses was 56.4%. The major areas of strength were “teamwork within department,” “feedback and communication about errors,” and “organizational learning-continuous improvement” (83%, 77%, & 75%; respectively). The major areas of improvement were “frequency of events reported,” “teamwork across departments,” “non-punitive response to errors” and “overall perception of PS” (34%, 42%, 45% & 47%; respectively). Significant differences found were across “patient contact” characteristic [t (156) = 2.142, p = .034]; across “work specializations” [F (3, 154) = 2.84, p = .04]; and across “years of experience at the institution” [F (4, 153) = 4.86, p = .004]. CONCLUSION: A culture that is safe for healthcare providers to work is paramount to minimize adverse events and save patients’ lives. The findings of this study provide a foundation for further interventions to improve patient safety culture. 

Objective: Antibiotics are considered crucial in preventing and treating many infectious diseases. However, antibiotics use causes major side effects and consequences. Raising public awareness about proper use of antibiotics contributes to improving understanding and preventing irreversible consequences. The aim of this study was to measure the level of awareness of antibiotics use among Omani patients, and to assess the relationship between level of awareness of antibiotics use and selected demographic variables.Methods: A cross-sectional design using a questionnaire, with a convenience sample of 354 patients was employed for this study.Results: The findings of this study indicated that most of the participants (63%) reported poor levels of awareness of antibiotics use. The mean value of level of awareness was 19.3 and the standard deviation was 3. Participants ranked doctors as the most (27%) to receive education from. There were significant relationship between levels of antibiotics awareness and gender [rpb (352) = -.126, p < .05]; levels of antibiotics awareness and employment [rpb (352) = -.149, p < .01]; levels of antibiotics awareness across age groups [F (3, 350) = 2.308, p = .049]; and across levels of education [F (3, 350) = 3.268, p = .014].Conclusions: Such findings are crucial because they form the basis for establishing awareness programs about antibiotics use which should be made accessible to patients and their families.