Medication Administration Error And Associated Factors Among Nurses Working In West Shoa Zone Public Hospitals, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2022

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