Analyzing the knowledge and attitude of nurses regarding medication error and its prophylactic ways in educational and therapeutic hospitals of Khorramabad

Medication errors are the most common avoidable causes of iatrogenic injuries in patients. One out of every three medication errors occurs when a nurse prescribes drug to a patient. Since medication instructions are among the most important parts in the patient's treatment process, their inappropriate application can lead to many serious consequences such as incomplete or incorrect therapy, as well as legal problems. The present study was carried out to verify the knowledge and attitude of nurses regarding medication error, and its prophylactic ways in educational and therapeutic hospitals of Khorramabad in 2005. The samples of this descriptive cross-sectional study included 86 randomly selected nurses who worked in educational and therapeutic hospitals of Khorramabad in 2005. Data collection instruments were a questionnaire and the structured interview. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 13), Chi-square and descriptive statistic test. Analyzing the data indicated that the nurses stated the moot important causes of medication errors as follows: inadequate number of nurses (100%), night and repeated long shifts (83.7%), personal problems of the nurses (79.9%), presence of the patients’ attendants and crowded wards (79.9%), and inappropriate environmental conditions of the wards (73.3%). Fear of receiving reprimands and punishment (88.4%), triviality of errors (57%), and unsupportive attitude of the nursing officials (50%) were the most frequently cited reasons for not reporting the medication errors. Moreover, adequate nurse to patient ratio (98.8%), staff continuing education (96.5%), and adequate information about medications (69.8%) were reported as the most important ways to prevent medication errors. Also 62.8% of the cases had moderate knowledge regarding medication error and its prophylactic ways. The data analysis showed that from the nurse's viewpoints, some interventions including increasing adequate nurse to patient ratio, improving environmental conditions of work, reducing environmental distractions such as interruptions and stressors, increasing staffs’ information about medications, increasing the role of clinical pharmacologists, creating medication error reporting systems, supportive attitude of nursing officials, focusing on causes of errors, and improving controlling and supervising systems can have remarkable effects on reducing medication errors. Moreover, both individuals and systems have to be taken into consideration when rules and regulations concerning medication error reporting and prevention are made.