AHRQ Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture Survey Data File Specifications
These specifications are for preparing your respondent-level data from the Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture (NHSOPS). The instructions below tell you how to prepare your Excel data file for submission to the NH SOPS Database.
Step 1: Include a header row with the variable name for each column.
Step 2: Submit individual survey response data using the response values indicated in this document (beginning on page 4).
Step 3: Check your data before submitting for the following things:
OUT-OF-RANGE VALUES
You should clean your data before submitting to the database to ensure that there are no out-of-range values and that the data submitted are free from error. Make sure all response values match the response value for the question.
REVERSE CODED ITEMS
Do not submit reverse coded data on the survey’s negatively worded items—simply submit each individual’s unmodified responses to the survey items.
For example, survey item A6, “Staff use shortcuts to get their work done faster” is negatively worded. Regardless, the data should be submitted so that 1=Strongly disagree and 5=Strongly agree, as originally indicated in the survey, as follows:
1=Strongly Disagree
2=Disagree
3=Neither
4=Agree
5=Strongly Agree
9= Does Not Apply or Don’t Know
JOB TITLES/WORK AREAS
If your nursing home modified or added new job title (F1) or work area (F7) categories, you MUST RECODE your specific job title/work areas back to the survey’s original job title/work area categories. If you added job titles/work areas that do not match any of the survey’s original job titles/work areas, re-code your specific job titles/work areas as “OTHER” (F1 = “I”, F7 = “E”), before submitting your data.
OTHER, PLEASE SPECIFY TEXT
Do not include Other-Please Specify data (questions F1 and F7, and Section G). While you may find it useful to review this text, it should not be submitted to the Database.
SPANISH VERSION OF THE NH SOPS
Please indicate which respondents (if any) completed a Spanish or other language version of the safety culture survey, if you have this information available. You should do so by adding an ‘S’ (for Spanish) or “N” (for other language) to the Individual Unique Record ID (UNIQUEID) e.g. 001S, 002N.
OTHER LANGUAGE VERSION OF THE NH SOPS
Please indicate which respondents (if any) completed the safety culture survey in a language that was not English or Spanish, if you have this information available. You should do so by adding an ‘N’ to the Individual Unique Record ID (UNIQUEID), e.g. 001N.
Record Identifier |
Variable Name |
Column Position |
Response Values |
Site ID |
SITEID |
Column A |
If you are submitting data for multiple nursing homes, then each site should have a unique Site ID. If you have data for only one nursing home, then its Site ID can be 1. |
Individual Unique Record ID |
UNIQUEID |
Column B |
Each individual record in the dataset should have a unique ID, e.g. 001, 002, 003. NOTE: If an individual completed a Spanish survey, add an ‘S’ at the end of the Record ID, e.g. 001S. |
Survey Question |
Variable Name |
Column Position |
Response Values |
|
A1 |
Column C |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A2 |
Column D |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A3 |
Column E |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A4 |
Column F |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A5 |
Column G |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A6 |
Column H |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A7 |
Column I |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A8 |
Column J |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A9 |
Column K |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A10 |
Column L |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A11 |
Column M |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A12 |
Column N |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A13 |
Column O |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A14 |
Column P |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A15 |
Column Q |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A16 |
Column R |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A17 |
Column S |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
A18 |
Column T |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
Survey Question |
Variable Name |
Column Position |
Response Values |
|
B1 |
Column U |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
B2 |
Column V |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
B3 |
Column W |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
|
B4 |
Column X |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
B5 |
Column Y |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
B6 |
Column Z |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
B7 |
Column AA |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
B8 |
Column AB |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
B9 |
Column AC |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
B10 |
Column AD |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
B11 |
Column AE |
1=Never 2=Rarely 3=Sometimes 4=Most of the time 5=Always 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
Survey Question |
Variable Name |
Column Position |
Response Values |
|
C1 |
Column AF |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
C2 |
Column AG |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
C3 |
Column AH |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
Survey Question |
Variable Name |
Column Position |
Response Values |
|
D1 |
Column AI |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
D2 |
Column AJ |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
D3 |
Column AK |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
D4 |
Column AL |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
D5 |
Column AM |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
D6 |
Column AN |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
D7 |
Column AO |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
D8 |
Column AP |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
D9 |
Column AQ |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
|
D10 |
Column AR |
1=Strongly Disagree 2=Disagree 3=Neither Agree nor Disagree 4=Agree 5=Strongly Agree 9=Does Not Apply or Don’t Know |
Survey Question |
Variable Name |
Column Position |
Response Values |
|
E1 |
Column AS |
A=Yes B=Maybe C=No |
|
E2 |
Column AT |
1=Poor 2=Fair 3=Good 4=Very Good 5=Excellent |
Survey Question |
Variable Name |
Column Position |
Response Values |
|
F1 |
Column AU |
A=Administrator/Manager B=Physician (MD, DO) C=Other Provider D=Licensed Nurse E=Nursing Assistant/Aide F=Direct Care Staff G=Administrative Support Staff H=Support Staff I=Other (Please write the title of your job) |
TEXT FOR OTHER, PLEASE SPECIFY [F1, item i]* - DO NOT SUBMIT TO DATABASE |
|||
|
F2 |
Column AV |
A=Less than 2 months B=2 to 11 months C=1 to 2 years D=3 to 5 years E=6 to 10 years F=11 years or more |
|
F3 |
Column AW |
A=15 or fewer hours per week B=16 to 24 hours per week C=25 to 40 hours per week D=More than 40 hours per week |
|
F4 |
Column AX |
A=Days B=Evenings C=Nights |
|
F5 |
Column AY |
A=Yes B=No |
|
F6 |
Column AZ |
A=YES, I work directly with residents most of the time B=NO, I do NOT work directly with residents most of the time |
|
F7 |
Column BA |
A=Many different areas or units in this nursing home/No specific area or unit B=Alzheimer’s / Dementia unit C=Rehab unit D=Skilled nursing unit E=Other area or unit (Please specify) |
TEXT FOR OTHER, PLEASE SPECIFY [F7, item e]* - DO NOT SUBMIT TO DATABASE |
Please feel free to write any comments about resident care and safety in this nursing home* - DO NOT SUBMIT TO DATABASE |
*DO NOT SUBMIT OTHER SPECIFY TEXT OR TEXT ON COMMENTS TO THE DATABASE (ITEMS IN SHADED ROWS)
Version 3
File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
File Title | AHRQ Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture Data Submission Specifications |
Subject | Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture Data File Layout |
Author | Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) |
File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
File Created | 2021-10-04 |