Linking the processes of medication administration to medication errors in the elderly

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Nursing Practice
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Older adults in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) often have multiple chronic conditions requiring numerous medications.
• Medication administration is a critical phase where most errors occur during lengthy medication rounds.
• Nursing practices in medication administration significantly impact resident health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the medication administration processes employed by nurses in LTCFs.
• To identify self-reported medication errors and their associated factors among nurses.
• To inform strategies for improving medication safety in elderly care settings.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 28 LTCFs in the Western Cape, South Africa.
• A stratified sampling method recruited 123 nurses from funded and private facilities.
• Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS version 27.

Main Results:

• High rates of self-reported medication errors were observed, including medication sharing (83%), dose omission (64.8%), failure to sign (57%), and wrong timing (50.8%).
• Frequent interruptions during medication rounds were identified as the most common reason for errors (75.6%).

Conclusions:

• Nurses self-reported numerous errors in medication administration processes within LTCFs.
• Mandatory medication training, adherence monitoring, and risk management strategies are crucial for LTCFs.
• Addressing identified factors can enhance evidence-based practice and improve resident outcomes.