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Assessment of nurses' opinion about reporting medication errors: a cross-sectional study


O.A. Udi
B.N. Ogbu
N.E. Chukwuyem
C.Q. Ike

Abstract

Objectives: Recently, there have been significant efforts through research to evaluate opinions about cause/etiology of non-reporting of medication errors. However, the challenge of defining what constitutes medication errors has raised the concern of whether errors in medication should be reported. The purpose of the study is to assess nurses' opinion about reporting medication errors.

Methods: Quantitative-cross-sectional research conducted to investigate nurses' opinion about reporting medication errors. This study was carried out among nurses working in a government hospital in Nigeria. A total of 259 (43.5%) Registered Nurses were randomly selected as respondents to the study.

Results: Study findings reveals that 195 (75.3%) of nurses report their incidents of medication errors while 64 (24.7%) of nurses do not report. In addition, 47.7% of nurses indicated that relationship with their colleagues informed their decision to report medication error. Sadly, 22.1% of nurses never reported their involvement in medication errors and all, 100%, the nurses unanimously indicated that medication error that led to patient death should be reported.

Conclusion: There's no doubt that patients' health suffer unnecessary risk following medication errors hence, the study finding suggests that cordial relationship among colleagues encourage medication error reporting.

Keywords: Reporting, Medication Errors, Nurses, Assessment


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eISSN: 2467-8252
print ISSN: 2360-7793