Sinéad Lydon

Background In Saudi Arabia, there has been substantial investment in patient safety initiatives. Objectives The objectives of this scoping review were to map the quantity and nature of existing research on patient safety in Saudi Arabian hospitals and to identify gaps in the extant literature. Methods Electronic searches were completed using five databases. Peer-reviewed studies written in English or Arabic that focused on patient safety in hospitals in Saudi Arabia were reviewed. Studies concerned with measuring and monitoring safety were categorised using the Measuring and Monitoring Safety Framework. The hierarchy of intervention effectiveness was used to categorise interventions studies. Results A total of 2489 studies were screened, with 67 meeting the inclusion criteria. In total, 61 (91%) of included studies were focused on the measurement or monitoring of safety. Six studies (9%) considered interventions to improve patient safety. Of these, 31.3% of the studies assessed past harm, 1.5% reliability of safety systems, 7.5% sensitivity to operations, 47.8% anticipation and preparedness, and 3% integration and learning. Of the six intervention studies, one study reported enforcing functions interventions, one simplification and standardisation, two rules and policies, and two studies applied an education and training intervention. Conclusion As is the case internationally, there is a paucity of evidence on interventions to improve safety in Saudi Arabia. This review has identified areas of strength, redundancy, and gaps in patient safety research in the Saudi Arabia. However, the findings also have implications for the MMS in other healthcare systems.