Background: Medication errors are the most common medical errors and are one of the major challenges threatening the health system. This study aimed to determine nurses’ perceived barriers and behaviors to reporting medication errors in 2011.
Methods: Using convenience sampling, a total of 403 nurses were selected from teaching hospitals in affiliated to Lorestan University of Medical Sciences (Khorramabad, Iran). Data was gathered via the modified Goldstone Questionnaire which was distributed at the nursing station and collected at the end of the shift. Data was analyzed using chi-square and t tests and analysis of variance in SPSS16.
ResultsFindings: While 73% of the participants (n = 294) were not certain about the cases of medication error, 81.6% (n = 329) stated fear of the nursing manager's reaction as the main obstacle to reporting medication errors. Moreover, 38.2% of the nurses (n = 154) did not report their medication errors because they were afraid of losing their job. According to the subjects’ ranking, illegible prescriptions and damaged drug labels were the most and least important causes of committing medication errors, respectively. The nurses’ rankings of causes of error were significantly correlated with gender and work experience.
Conclusion: Training courses to improve nurses’ knowledge and motivate them to act according to the patient’s benefit along with establishing a proper system of error reporting are essential.
Keywords: Medication Error, Behavior, Hospitals, Nursing, Perceived Barriers
