Registered nurses perceptions of medication administration errors and their management in Saudi Arabian hospitals

Alreshidi, TM

Abstract

Background
Medication error is a global issue that can cause serious harm and even death. Nurses who are responsible for administering medication at the patient interface have the potential to contribute to the problem by making medication administration errors or preventing errors before medication is given. There are multiple contributory factors to the occurrence of error; active failures, local conditions and latent conditions but in order to build a safe culture for patients, it has been recommended that as well as having systems and procedures in place to prevent error, it is important to know the values and beliefs of the staff involved to ensure that they play their part in communicating and preventing errors. In a multi-cultural nursing context such as that in Saudi Arabia the values and beliefs of nursing staff may be different to those in other parts of the world.

Aims
The study was designed to explore nurses’ perceptions of medication administration errors in Saudi Arabia. It sought to collect nurses’ views about the factors that may influence medication administration errors, barriers to error reporting and strategies to promote safe medication administration.

Methods
A systematic review was undertaken to contextualise the study and identify a gap in the literature. The methodological design adopted for this study is non-experimental, descriptive mixed methods. Quantitative and qualitative components were applied sequentially in two phases. Questionnaires (N=236), and semi structured interviews (N=19) were used to further explain nurses’ perceptions and views on managing medication errors in Saudi Arabia.

Results
The systematic review highlighted a lack of in-depth and comprehensive studies of nurses’ perceptions of medication administration errors. This study found that in line with the international literature there are a range of factors that contribute to errors, however, in Saudi Arabia the highest perceived factors were high workload and poor handwriting. There is an underreporting of errors and the fear of the consequences remains the most significant barrier against reporting medication errors. Nurses appear to weigh up the risk to patients before deciding whether to report errors or not. Solutions for minimising errors can be found in a number of strategies at different levels of the organisation; these include staff training and technology solutions such as computer physician order entry (CPOE) or barcode technology.

Conclusion
The findings in the current study offer a comprehensive understanding of the views and perceptions of nurses regarding medication errors within the Saudi context. This provides valuable local evidence that can be built into appropriate professional education and procedures for managing medication administration errors for both Saudi and international nurses employed in Saudi Arabian hospitals and thus improve patient safety.

Citation

Alreshidi, T. Registered nurses perceptions of medication administration errors and their management in Saudi Arabian hospitals. (Thesis). University Of salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Sep 2, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 2, 2016
• Additional Information: Funders : Saudi Arabian Government
• Award Date: Jun 21, 2016