Medication error in children in the hospital environment: intervention of the pediatric specialist nurse
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29352/mill0218e.41828Keywords:
nursing; medication errors; child; hospital; notificationAbstract
Introduction: Over the last few decades, patient safety is received more attention in healthcare, particularly in pediatrics. The individual characteristics of child development, the need of conversions between units, associated with the different body weights calculations turn the probability of a medication error three times higher than for an adult.
Objective: Investigate the relationship between nurses’ personal factors and medication errors, as well as the characterization of the notification culture of a private hospital in Lisbon.
Methods: It´s a descriptive, correlational, and transversal study, with a quantitative approach. A closed-question questionnaire was applied to 37 nurses from the pediatrics/pediatric emergency service of the hospital under study, along with the analysis of the data from the notification platform used in the institution.
Results: The high workload is the main cause of medication errors, occurring essentially in the afternoon shift. Most nurses do not report errors, which is why reporting in hospital own system has low adherence.
Conclusion: There’s a high incidence rate and a low notification rate, data that together require an analysis and a continuous improvement program to minimize their occurrence in the care of hospitalized children. The reporting culture must be seen as a process that leads to improving the quality of care, free from fear of punishment or professional accountability.
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