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Introduction: Cancer is a major health issue in Iran and in the rest of the world. Fatigue is one of the most complex and the most prevalent cancer-related problems that can affect various aspects of life for cancer patients. It can cause numerous problems. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the level of fatigue and its associated factors in patients with cancer. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 90 cancer patients referred to the oncology department in one of the teaching hospitals were assessed. The data collection tool was a questionnaire based on demographic information and the fatigue severity scale (FSS). This questionnaire consisted of nine questions with a numeric scale for answers ranging from 0 to 7. A score of 7 indicates the highest level of fatigue and 1 indicates no fatigue. The patients with above-average scores were considered to have fatigue and those with lower scores were considered to have no fatigue. To analyse the data, descriptive and inferential statistics (chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, and logistic regression) were used. Results: The mean age of the patients was 52.1 ± 14.4 years. The majority of the subjects were women (58.9%), married (91.1%), and with an educational level below diploma (40%). The average score of fatigue was 5.8 ± 0.54 out of 7. The results of the logistic regression model showed that the factors influencing cancer-related fatigue were the variable of unemployment (p =0.034, β= 1.1) and haemoglobin levels (p=0.049, β= 0.33). Conclusion:The results showed that in addition to providing physical care and nursing interventions, it is important to consider demographic factors and psychological interventions for the comprehensive management of problems in cancer patients, particularly fatigue.

Medication errors are one of the most common types of medical errors. In Intensive Care Units, because of its special circumstances, the risk of such errors is increasing. There are several causes for the medication errors of nurses, including environmental factors. Objective: The current study aimed at determining environmental factors contributing to medication errors based on the perceptions of ICU nurses. Materials and Methods: The current analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 281 nurses working in special care units ICU of hospitals affiliated to Guilan University of Medical Sciences in 2014. Nurses' perspectives of environmental factors were investigated using a two-part researcher-designed questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Results: Two factors with a predictive power of 68.32% remained as the most important environmental factors. The first factor explained 36.47% of the total variance of medication errors and the second factor explained 31.84%. The first factor consisted of three variables of "poor lighting", "high noise levels", and "inappropriate room temperature", while the second factor included the variables of "high number of patients", "lack of equipment for injection and drop-rate setting", and "inadequate space for medication preparation". Among these variables, poor lighting with a factor loading of 0.89 was reported as the most important environmental factor contributing to medication errors. Conclusion: Since poor lighting, high noise levels, and inappropriate room temperature were determined as the most contributing environmental factors to medication errors, it is recommended that managers and authorities of hospitals prevent and mitigate medication errors and improve patient's safety by modifying environmental conditions.

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