Exploring Nurses' Perceptions of Medication Error Risk Factors: Findings From a Sequential Qualitative Study

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Quality

Background:

• Medication administration errors pose a significant threat to patient safety.
• Understanding nurses' perspectives is vital for identifying root causes of errors.
• Previous research has often relied on observational data, potentially missing nuanced factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore nurses' perceptions of factors associated with medication administration errors.
• To identify specific risk factors from the perspective of frontline nursing staff.
• To complement existing data on medication errors in a tertiary hospital setting.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative focus group study was conducted with nurses.
• Participants were recruited from two medical wards of a tertiary hospital.
• Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data.

Main Results:

• Four major themes emerged: professional practice environment, person-related factors, drug-related factors, and processes/procedures.
• Key perceived risk factors included inadequate staffing, frequent interruptions, system failures, poor leadership, and high patient acuity.
• Focus group discussions revealed unique insights not captured by previous observational studies.

Conclusions:

• Nurses' perceptions highlight critical areas for intervention to reduce medication errors.
• Addressing environmental and systemic factors is essential for improving medication safety.
• Qualitative data from nurses offers valuable considerations for patient safety initiatives.