Factors related to medication errors in the preparation and administration of intravenous medication in the hospital environment

Abstract

Background Medication errors have long been associated with low-quality medical care services and significant additional medical costs. Objective The aim of this study was to culturally adapt and validate the questionnaire on knowledge, attitudes and behaviors in the administration of intravenous medication, as well as to explore these factors in a hospital setting. Methods The study was divided into two phases: 1) validation and cross-cultural adaptation, and 2) cross-sectional study. A total of 276 hospital-based nursing professionals participated in the study. Results A Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.849 was found, indicating good internal consistency. In the multivariate analysis, statistically significant differences were found between knowledge and attitudes, demonstrating that having greater suitable knowledge correlates with having a more positive attitude. It was also discovered that having a positive attitude as well as the necessary knowledge increases the possibility of engaging in adequate behaviors. Conclusions The knowledge, attitudes and behavior questionnaire has a satisfactory internal consistency in order to be applied to the Spanish context. Implications for nursing management: Knowledge acquisition and positive attitude are both factors which promote adequate behavior, which in turn seems to have an impact on medication errors prevention. Health institutions must encourage continuous education for their employees.

Development and Validation of the Medication Safety Competence Scale for Nurses

“…Further, rather than blaming the individual who makes an error, a supportive environment to cooperatively cope with medication safety problems is promoted. This is consistent with the previous literature (Ginsburg et al, 2012; Márquez-Hernández et al, 2019; Okuyama et al, 2011).…”

“…The sixth factor—“responsibility in the nursing profession”—includes the ability of nurses to complete and evaluate regular education for mediation safety and to act professionally. To reduce preventable medication errors, regular training and evaluation to improve nurses’ medication safety capabilities are vital (Aljadhey et al, 2014; Di Simone et al, 2018; Keers et al, 2014; Márquez-Hernández et al, 2019), and the need for regular education and evaluation concerning medication safety for health care providers at the national level has been proposed (WHO, 2016).…”

Medication administration errors: A concept analysis

“…Nurse factors are influences of the individual nurse that may contribute to a MAE occurring. These factors include employee fatigue, lack of medication knowledge, and inattention 27,28 . Employee fatigue or burnout may lead to a nurse being distracted during the medication administration process, increasing the risk of an error 28,33 .…”

Knowledge about the use of potentially dangerous drugs among hospital health care nurses

“…Pesquisas evidenciaram índices significativos de erros de medicação em ambiente hospitalar (3)(4) . Erros de medicação são eventos adversos evitáveis que podem causar danos ao paciente e, em situações críticas, resultar em óbito.…”

“…Erros de medicação são eventos adversos evitáveis que podem causar danos ao paciente e, em situações críticas, resultar em óbito. A ocorrência deste tipo de falha pode estar associada a fatores como falhas na prescrição e dispensação de medicamentos, ausência de comunicação entre profissionais, procedimentos farmacêuticos, sobrecarga de trabalho, conhecimento e atitude profissional, identificação inadequada e nomes semelhantes dos medicamentos (2)(3)5) .…”