Nurses' attitudes and perceived barriers to the reporting of medication administration errors

AIMS: (1) To explore the attitudes and perceived barriers to reporting medication administration errors and (2) to understand the characteristics of - and nurses' feelings - about error reports.

BACKGROUND: Under-reporting of medication administration errors is a global concern related to the safety of patient care. Understanding nurses' attitudes and perceived barriers to error reporting is the initial step to increasing the reporting rate.

METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive survey with a self-administered questionnaire was completed by the nurses of a medical centre hospital in Taiwan.

RESULTS: A total of 306 nurses participated in the study. Nurses' attitudes towards medication administration error reporting were inclined towards positive. The major perceived barrier was fear of the consequences after reporting. The results demonstrated that 88.9% of medication administration errors were reported orally, whereas 19.0% were reported through the hospital internet system. Self-recrimination was the common feeling of nurses after the commission of an medication administration error.

CONCLUSIONS: Even if hospital management encourages errors to be reported without recrimination, nurses' attitudes toward medication administration error reporting are not very positive and fear is the most prominent barrier contributing to underreporting.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nursing managers should establish anonymous reporting systems and counselling classes to create a secure atmosphere to reduce nurses' fear and provide incentives to encourage reporting.