Magnitude of medication administration error and associated factors in adult intensive care units of public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2019

Magnitude and Predictors of Medication Administration Errors Among Nurses in Public Hospitals in Northeastern Ethiopia

“…In this study, those with less than or equal to four years of work experience, as well as those with five to nine years of work experience, were nearly four times and three times more likely, respectively, to make drug administration errors than those with 15 or more years of professional experience. This finding is in line with studies in the Felegehiwot referral hospital (Feleke et al, 2015), public hospitals in Addis Ababa (Tassew et al, 2022), and tertiary hospitals in Addis Ababa (Wondmieneh et al, 2020). One possible explanation is that medication administration is part of basic nursing practice, and the nurse will improve his or her knowledge and skills in medication administration Similarly, in the current study, the nurse-patient ratio was an important predictor of MAEs, where nurses who provided patient care for more than 11 patients per day were nearly three times more likely to make errors in drug administration than those who served for less than or equal to 7 patients.…”

“…Interrupting nurses during drug administration increases the likelihood of medication errors. This is consistent with the findings in Ethiopia, which include Felegehiwot referral hospital ( Feleke et al, 2015 ), Addis Abeba public hospitals ( Tassew et al, 2022 ), Amhara Region referral hospitals ( Mekonen et al, 2020 ), Addis Abeba tertiary hospitals ( Wondmieneh et al, 2020 ), and five referrals from the Amhara Regional State ( Tsegaye et al, 2020 ). This is due to the fact that, because drug preparation and administration require mental focus, distractions during these tasks cause cognitive failures in nurses in terms of working memory and attention to detail.…”

“…Similarly, in the current study, the nurse-patient ratio was an important predictor of MAEs, where nurses who provided patient care for more than 11 patients per day were nearly three times more likely to make errors in drug administration than those who served for less than or equal to 7 patients. This is consistent with studies in Ethiopia, which include the Felegehiwot referral hospital ( Feleke et al, 2015 ), North Shewa public hospitals ( Asefa et al, 2021 ), and public hospitals in Addis Ababa ( Tassew et al, 2022 ). This could be because, since the nurses are overburdened, medication administration is a single task in nursing practice, and as the number of patients per nurse increases, so does the workload.…”

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) has been doing everything possible to reduce at least 50% of the serious but avoidable harm caused by medication errors within a 5-year period (2017-2022WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge on Medication Safety, 2017).…”