A Survey of Nurses' Perceptions of the Causes of Medication Errors and Barriers to Reporting in Hospitals Affiliated to Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background & Aims: Administration of medications is an important part of treatment. Reporting of medication errors by nurses maintains patient safety and the lack of appropriate reporting can cause serious problems in health systems. The aim of this study was to determine the causes of medication errors and the barriers of error reporting from the viewpoints of nurses. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 248 nurses in hospitals affiliated to Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Participants were selected by simple random sampling. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS software. Results: The most important reasons of medication errors were nursing staff shortage (4.3 ± 1.2), fatigue due to overwork (4.1 ± 1.05), and high workload (4.1 ± 2.8). The main reasons for not reporting medication errors were authorities' focusing on the person who has made the error regardless of other factors involved (3.86 ± 1.06), fear of legal issues (3.79 ± 1.07), and lack of clarity of the definition of medication error (3.34 ± 1.13). There was a significant difference between the factors affecting medication errors from the view of nurses, and fixed and rotating work shifts (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Due to the importance of patient safety, establishing a system for reporting and recording errors along with the positive reaction of managers to errors by personnel is essential.