A Systematized Review of Nurses’ Perceptions of Medication Errors Contributing Factors in Developing Countries

Abstract

Introduction: Nurses are a main factor in maintaining the safety of a patient. Nurses are the main component and are indeed at the front of dispensing medicines to patients; they also have a responsibility to maintain the patient’s safety.
 Objective: This systematized review intends to review studies that assess and explore nurses’ attitudes and perceptions of medication errors in developing countries within the Middle East region, thereby contributing to knowledge regarding medication error risk.
 Methodology: a database search has been conducted for studies related to the research question that has been formulated using PEO framework, the database includes: MEDLINE and CINAHL EBSCO and OVID, NICE, Science Direct and ERIC. The reference lists and bibliographies were also analyzed, all the studies founded during the search process were assessed according to predefine inclusion and exclusion criteria. 10 studies (6 quantitative studies, 3 qualitative and 1 which used mixed methods) were chosen and were included in this review.
 Result: The studies assessed in this review were noted to have moderate to strong quality. The review found a range of factors that contribute to medication error, including both human and environmental factors. Among the contributing factors that most frequently mentioned inthis review were insufficient pharmacological knowledge, fatigue and overwork, communication breakdown, inadequate staff training, and high patient-to-nurse ratio.
 Conclusion and Recommendation: It would behave Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries to invest attention in this topic. Particularly advised would be additional theoretically focused research to determine the causes of medication errors.