Frequency, Type and Causes of Medication Errors in Pediatric Wards of Hospitals in Yazd, the Central of Iran

Background Medication errors are among the most common medical errors which are used as an indicator to assess patients’ safety in hospitals. Thereby the aim of this study was to investigate the frequency, type and causes of medication errors in children's ward at hospitals in Yazd- Iran. Materials and Methods This descriptive-analytical study was conducted during 6 months from Jan to Jun 2015. A total number of 63 nurses working in the pediatric ward of the hospitals in Yazd city were enrolled in this study using census method. Data collection tools included demographic questionnaire and "Wakefield medication administration errors" questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS-18. Results Medication errors had been made by 44.4% of the nurses once to twice in the 6 months preceding the study. 30.2% of the errors had occurred on the night shift. Errors with high incidence  in non-injectable medication included wrong patient (1.6%),wrong dosage (7.9%)  , drug adminstration without doctors ordedr (1.6%) and in injectable medication included wrong  dosage (7.9%),mistake in medication calculation (6.4%) and wrong infusion rate (9.5%). The most common causes were communication, packaging, transcription, working conditions and pharmacy conditions respectively. Conclusion Considering the frequency of errors on the night shift, dosage calculation and administration as well as the identified causes, it is necessary that nursing managers to negotiate with medical and pharmaceutical professionals in order to design and implement operational guidelines for preventing medication errors.