Safety climate ,job satisfaction and safety performance among assistant medical officers in a General Hospital in Kuala Lumpur

Safety performance remains a critical issue in healthcare organisations, particularly in high-risk hospital environments where frontline personnel operate under complex clinical demands, heavy workloads, and continuous exposure to occupational hazards. Assistant Medical Officers (AMOs) play a vital role in delivering patient care; however, empirical evidence examining factors that influence their safety-related behaviour remains limited. This study investigates the relationships between safety climate, job satisfaction, and safety performance among AMOs working in a general hospital setting. Safety performance is conceptualised using two behavioural dimensions, namely safety compliance and safety participation, capturing both adherence to mandatory safety procedures and voluntary engagement in safety-enhancing activities. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was employed, with data collected through a structured self-administered questionnaire distributed to AMOs across selected clinical departments. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was utilised to evaluate the measurement and structural models and to test the proposed hypotheses. The reliability and validity of all measurement instruments were established prior to hypothesis testing .The results indicate that safety climate has a strong and statistically significant positive influence on both safety compliance and safety participation, highlighting its central role in shaping safety behaviour in hospital environments. Job satisfaction was also found to have a positive and statistically significant influence on both dimensions of safety performance, indicating that AMOs who experience higher levels of job satisfaction are more likely to comply with safety requirements and actively participate in safety initiatives, although the magnitude of these effects was comparatively weaker. Overall, all hypothesised relationships were supported, demonstrating that safety climate and job satisfaction jointly contribute to safety performance among AMOs. This study extends behaviourl safety research within healthcare by focusing on an underexamined professional group and provides practical insights for strengthening organizational safety climate and enhancing job satisfaction to improve safety outcomes