Contributory factors and prevalent causes of medication errors among nurses in Cebu City

Abstract

The researcher determined the contributory factors and prevalent causes of medication errors among nurses in Cebu City. The increasing incidence of medication errors nowadays prompted the researcher to explore the different factors and causes of this healthcare concern. This is something of value since it served as a basis in formulating a plan of preventive measures. This study utilized a quantitative correlational research with a descriptive qualitative method. Basically, there were 100 nurses who participated in the study. These nurses were chosen based on a specified criteria and data collection was conducted on these participants who came from different tertiary public and private hospitals in Cebu City. With the help of SSPS, the findings of this study revealed that the topmost common contributory factors of medication error are high workload, stress and level of tiredness, communication problem, and working environment while topmost common prevalent causes are illegible physician’s order, computing the wrong dose, and not identifying the right patient. Further, it revealed that generally the most of the items from the contributory factors and prevalent causes of medication errors do not have significant relationships with each other. This study was inspired by the Human Error theory by James Reason. It explained that mistakes or errors are human-nature. In this study, a proposed preventive measure was formulated to help combat the occurrence of medication errors. These measures include professional and systemic reforms. These reforms aimed to change not only the person but the whole system or organization, as well.