The effect of education intervention on parenteral medication preparation and administration among nurses in a general intensive care unit

Abstract

AbstractThe preparation and administration of parenteral medications in intensive care units is associated with high error rates. Lack of knowledge has been identified as the main reason for these errors. This study aims to measure the effects of education intervention on the incidence and types of parenteral medication preparation and administration errors, adherence to good practices, and the accuracy of drug infusions' concentrations. This prospective, pre‐ and post‐interventional study was conducted in a General Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia using an observation method. The preparation and administration of parenteral medications by the nurses was observed directly during pre‐ and post‐intervention. The concentrations of drug infusions (noradrenaline) prepared by the nurses were analysed. The education intervention significantly reduced the error rate from 79% to 50% (p < 0.001), and improved good practices' adherence. However, there was no significant difference in the concentration error rate of the drug infusions prepared in pre‐ (48%) and post‐intervention (53%) (p = 0.70). Future studies may look into the effectiveness of providing practical sessions targeting skills and technique to improve the quality of the drug infusions prepared.