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Factors That Influence Medication Errors: The Perspective of Neonatal Nurses

Glaucia Ranquine Luz, Benedita Maria Rêgo Deusdará Rodrigues, Sandra Teixeira de Araújo

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that contribute to the incidence of medication errors, from the viewpoint of neonatal nurses.
Methods: This was a qualitative study that included 14 nurses from a neonatal intensive care unit of a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Bardin content analysis.
Results: The nurses listed factors that were related to prescription and nursing care, which they believed to result in medication error. From their point of view, these factors may affect the safety of newborns, leading to situations that could involve clinical harm and risk of death.
Conclusion: The results reveal the need for more reliable and safe medication systems, which should be developed and implemented using education programs that focus on the general principles of patient safety, and public policies to improve the culture of safety in neonatal units.