Can nurses' shift work jeopardize the patient safety? A systematic review

Area of Science:

• Nursing and Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety Research
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Medication administration constitutes 40% of hospital nursing activities, highlighting nurses' critical role in patient safety.
• Inpatient nurses are directly responsible for patient care and are susceptible to factors affecting performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the correlation between clinical risk management and medication errors.
• To investigate the effects of shift work, including fatigue and sleep deprivation, on inpatient nurses.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review adhering to PRISMA guidelines was conducted.
• Relevant articles were selected based on inclusion criteria and quality assessment.
• Databases searched include PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and CINAHL (1992-August 2017).

Main Results:

• 19 articles were analyzed from an initial extraction of 723 references.
• The selected studies focused on the impact of workload, shifts, and sleep deprivation on medication error probability.

Conclusions:

• Key contributors to medication errors include stress, fatigue, workload, night shifts, staffing ratios, and interruptions.
• These factors negatively impact nurse health and performance.
• Further research is needed to develop strategies for minimizing medication errors.