Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026
06:59
A Novel Approach for the Administration of Medications and Fluids in Emergency Scenarios and Settings
Published on: November 9, 2016
[The role of occupational context factors in medication administration errors]
1Departamento de Enfermería de Persona Adulta, Facultad de Enfermería, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona. lambrosio@unav.es
Anales Del Sistema Sanitario De Navarra
|May 8, 2013
Summary
Workplace factors like distractions and overload significantly contribute to medication administration errors (MAEs). Addressing these issues can improve patient safety and reduce healthcare costs.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare quality and safety
- Nursing practice
- Patient harm reduction
Context:
- Medication administration errors (MAEs) are a significant concern in hospitals.
- Human factors and work environment significantly influence MAE occurrence.
- This review focuses on work setting factors contributing to MAEs in hospital settings.
Purpose:
- To identify work setting factors associated with medication administration errors (MAEs) in hospitals.
- To synthesize findings from existing literature on MAE precursors.
- To inform strategies for reducing MAEs in clinical practice.
Summary:
- A narrative literature review identified key work context factors contributing to MAEs.
- Distractions, interruptions, work overload, unit design, and material characteristics were prominent factors.
- Eight studies from 2002-2012 were included.
Impact:
- Implementing organizational changes to minimize interruptions can reduce MAEs.
- Patient engagement in medication administration may enhance safety.
- New technologies and improved medication labeling are crucial for error reduction.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Pharmaceutical Poisoning: Potential Scenarios
Pharmaceutical poisoning can occur through various channels, impacting an estimated 2 million hospitalized patients in the U.S. annually with serious adverse drug responses. These scenarios encompass both therapeutic uses, such as drug toxicity, where even standard dosages can lead to severe central nervous system depression, and non-therapeutic exposures, including accidental ingestion by children, and environmental and occupational exposures.Unintentional poisonings often involve exploratory...
01:24Drug Toxicity: Risk factors
Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) are potential complications that arise during pharmacotherapy, influenced by multiple risk factors. Age plays a significant role; both neonates and the elderly are at heightened risk due to their respective immature and diminished metabolic and elimination processes. Gender also impacts ADRs, with females experiencing a 1.5 to 1.7-fold greater risk than males, which may be linked to pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and hormonal differences. Notably, neonates, the...
01:15Drug Dosing: Geriatric Patients
Elderly individuals encompass a diverse population with varying degrees of age-related physiological changes. Defining the elderly presents challenges, as the geriatric population is often arbitrarily categorized as individuals older than 65. However, many individuals in this group lead active and healthy lives, with an increasing number surpassing 85 years and falling into the older elderly category. Physiological changes associated with aging impact performance capacity and homeostatic...
01:08Obedience
According to obedience research, we may harm others under the forceful pressures of an authority figure (Milgram, 1974). How about if the inappropriate orders were delivered with less force? The increasing interdependence between nurses and physicians compelled Hofling and his colleagues to explore nurses’ reactions to a potentially harmful medical request made by the perceived authority figure, the doctor (Hofling, Brotzman, Dalrymple, Graves, & Pierce, 1966). In this situation, obedience...
01:19Factors Affecting Drug Distribution: Miscellaneous Factors
Drug distribution in the human body is a complex process influenced by various individual factors, including age, pregnancy, obesity, diet, body water composition, pH levels, and specific disease conditions.
Age plays a significant role due to differences in body composition among different age groups. Infants, for instance, have a higher proportion of total body water and lower albumin levels, a protein that binds drugs in the bloodstream. This unique composition in infants enhances the...
Age plays a significant role due to differences in body composition among different age groups. Infants, for instance, have a higher proportion of total body water and lower albumin levels, a protein that binds drugs in the bloodstream. This unique composition in infants enhances the...
01:21Factors Affecting Drug Response: Overview
When it comes to infants and young children, they are typically administered smaller doses of medication in comparison to adults. This is primarily because their organ functions still need to fully develop, meaning their bodies are not as efficient at metabolizing or eliminating drugs. Additionally, their blood-brain barrier is more permeable than in adults. As a result, high concentrations of drugs can easily penetrate the central nervous system (CNS), potentially leading to neurological...