Evaluation of patient safety competencies: Findings of the psychometric properties of the H-PEPSS in France and French-speaking Switzerland

Background: Several initiatives have been implemented to develop, manage, and assess patient safety competencies, which are considered as a serious public health issue across the world. The Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS) is widely used as a psychometric scale for evaluating perceived patient safety competencies. The purpose of the study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the French version of H-PEPSS. Methods: A total of 449 students enrolled in nursing and physiotherapy schools in France and French-speaking Switzerland completed a self-administered questionnaire. Results: The 6-factor model demonstrated adequate goodness-of-fit statistics. The total score can be used as an overall measure of patient safety competence. In contrast to previous studies, the use of McDonald's omega was preferred to Cronbach's alpha to measure the composite reliability of the scale. Contrary to the original study, the “Understanding Human and Environmental Factors” Subscale showed inadequate reliability. This subscale has often been reported with the lowest reliability in previous studies. Scalar invariance between countries and partial scalar invariance between majors were observed. Conclusion: Perceived patient safety competencies can be assessed and fairly compared across France and Switzerland as well as across nursing and physiotherapy students. Practical and research implications of the H-PEPSS are discussed.