Abstract:
Background: Medication administration errors (MAEs) are a major health issue that
directly threatens patients' safety by increasing death rates, length of stay in health
facilities, and service expenses. Nurses are the primary safeguard for safe medication
administration. Assessing the magnitude and associated factors of medication
administration errors has pivotal contributions for nursing practice in improving patient
safety.
Objective: To assess medication administration error and associated factors among
nurses working in West Shoa zone public hospitals, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2022
Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study design was used among 262
randomly selected nurses working in four selected hospitals in West Shoa zone from
December 25, 2021, to January 25, 2022. A structured, self-administered questionnaire
and an observational checklist were used to collect data. Data were entered into Epidata
version 4.6 and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Binary logistic regression was used to
identify factors associated with medication administration errors. The multivariate
analysis included all variables with a p-value of ≤ 0.25 in the bivariate analysis. The
adjusted odds ratio was used to interpret association at 95% CI. Finally, statistical
significance was declared at a p < 0.05.
Results: The response rate for the study was 98.1%. One hundred fifty-four (59.92%)
(95% CI: 54%, 66%) nurses made medication administration errors in the last 12 months.
Nurses who were working in general hospital (AOR = 2.33, 95% CI: 1.13–4.79), who
administered medications prepared by another nurse (AOR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.26–4.12),
who did not have medication preparation rooms (AOR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.39–4.68), who
interrupted during medication administration (AOR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.23–3.99), and
physicians who used abbreviations during medication orders (AOR = 2.74, 95% CI: 1.49–
5.02) were significantly associated with medication administration errors.
Conclusion and recommendation: Six in ten nurses made medication administration
errors in West Shoa zone public hospitals. Availability of a medication preparation room,
interruption during medication administration, administering medications prepared by
another nurse, hospital types, and physicians' use of abbreviations during medication
orders should be considered to minimize the risk of medication administration error
