Perception of Nurses Regarding Medication Administration Error in Neonatal units, Tertiary Care Hospital, Pakistan
Abstract
Background: The occurrence of medication administration errors (MAEs) is a worldwide problem in many health services, increasing the likelihood of medication-related adverse outcomes. Neonate patients, due to unique characteristics, are more vulnerable to drug reactions. A routine work of nurses is medication administration, which is a complicated process. The nurses’ perception regarding medication administration error in neonates is unknown. Objective: This study aimed to identify nurses’ perceived reasons contributing to medication administration errors and their under reporting in neonatal units. Study Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. Place and duration of study: The study was carried out in the neonatal units of Children’s Hospital Lahore, a tertiary care hospital, from January to April 2026. Material and Methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive design. Ninety registered nurses (RNs) working in the neonatal department were approached using convenience sampling. Data were obtained through an adopted questionnaire comprising several sections to explore the MAEs reasons and causes of underreporting. Data were summarized using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Results: The highest-rated reasons for MAEs were similar medications' appearance (mean 5.36, SD 0.78), similar names (mean 5.16, SD 0.98), and similar packaging (mean 4.84, SD 1.14). The highest-rated barriers to reporting MAEs were that administration focused on the individual rather than system-related causes (mean 5.11, SD 1.05), lack of positive feedback (mean 4.74, SD 1.38) and fear of being blamed if a patient is harmed (mean 4.71, SD 1.33). Conclusion: The study provided a useful insight to nursing and administration authorities. Administration authorities must implement standard policies to respond to a drug error. It is needed to develop and implement a non-punitive, blame-free system to document medication-related incidents. Keywords: Medication administration errors; nurse; perception; neonatal unit; underreporting; patient safety