![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)
Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to familiarize with incidence and report of medication errors in Iran.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to discussion about the relationship between incidence and report of medication errors and work conditions in Iran.
Background: Medical errors are a challenge threatening health care systems in every country. Of the known medical errors, medication errors are one of the most common types. Medication errors are considered to be a serious threat to patients' safety. Efforts to detect and prevent these errors have considerably increased in the recent years.
Aim: to determine the incidence and reporting rate of medication errors as are reported by Iranian nurses and their relationship with work conditions in hospitals under the authority of Iran University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study carried out in 6 hospitals. Through a stratified multiple stage sampling 300 nurses, were selected. A researcher made three part self report questionnaire was used to collect data regarding the nurses’ medication errors, medication error reports and their perceived work condition during the last three months, which were then processed using descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance.
Findings: The mean of medication errors nurses recalled was 19.5 and the mean of error reporting was 1.3 cases during the last three months. The relationship between error incidence and work conditions as perceived by nurses was statistically significant (df=3, P≤0.0001), however, there was no significant relationship between reporting the occurred error and nurses’ perceived work conditions (df=3, P≤0.255).
Conclusion and implications: The establishment of an efficient reporting system, documentation of errors, and removal of obstacles may result in reduced frequency of medication errors. Considering the relationship between medication error incidence and work conditions, it seems that creating such a work condition in which nurses feel more comfortable and decreasing work tensions may pave the way to preventing nursing errors.