Iranian Nurses’ Experiences on Obstacles of Safe Drug Administration: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: Safety maintenance and prevention of damage to patients caused by errors in nursing have a special importance, and a lack of sufficient attention to the correct principles of drug administration can lead to the patient' health threats and reducing safety.

The administration of drugs is complex and influenced by many factors, particularly in pediatric wards; thus, the present study aimed to explain pediatric nurses' experiences on obstacles to safe drug administration.

METHODS: In this study, the qualitative approach and content analysis method were used. Twenty pediatric nurses involved in medication administration were selected for participation using purposive sampling. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Using continuous analysis, data collection and comparison were performed at the same time.

RESULTS: From the data analysis, 4 main themes were extracted. Working pressure, lack of drug resources, insufficient colleague performance, and lack of experience and knowledge in drug administration were four main themes obtained from study.

CONCLUSION: Care managers can identify obstacles to safe medication administration to improve patient safety. For which necessary measures must be taken to remove them and to enhance patient safe care provided by nurses.