TY - JOUR
T1 - The perceptions of nurses towards barriers to the safe administration of medicines in mental health settings
AU - Hemingway, Steve
AU - Mccann, Terence
AU - Baxter, Hazel
AU - Smith, George
AU - Burgess-Dawson, Rebecca
AU - Dewhirst, Kate
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of barriers to safe administration of medicines in mental health settings. A cross-sectional survey was used, and 70 mental health nurses and 41 students were recruited from a mental health trust and a university in Yorkshire, UK. Respondents completed a questionnaire comprising closed- and open-response questions. One item, which contained seven sub-items, addressed barriers to safe administration of medication. Seven themes-five nurse- and prescriber-focused and two service user-focused-were abstracted from the data, depicting a range of barriers to safe administration of medicines. Nurse- and prescriber-focused themes included environmental distractions, insufficient pharmacological knowledge, poorly written and incomplete medication documentation, inability to calculate medication dosage correctly, and work-related pressure. Service user-focused themes comprised poor adherence to medication regimens, and cultural and linguistic communication barriers with service users. Tackling medication administration error is predominantly an organizational rather than individual practitioner responsibility.
AB - The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of barriers to safe administration of medicines in mental health settings. A cross-sectional survey was used, and 70 mental health nurses and 41 students were recruited from a mental health trust and a university in Yorkshire, UK. Respondents completed a questionnaire comprising closed- and open-response questions. One item, which contained seven sub-items, addressed barriers to safe administration of medication. Seven themes-five nurse- and prescriber-focused and two service user-focused-were abstracted from the data, depicting a range of barriers to safe administration of medicines. Nurse- and prescriber-focused themes included environmental distractions, insufficient pharmacological knowledge, poorly written and incomplete medication documentation, inability to calculate medication dosage correctly, and work-related pressure. Service user-focused themes comprised poor adherence to medication regimens, and cultural and linguistic communication barriers with service users. Tackling medication administration error is predominantly an organizational rather than individual practitioner responsibility.
KW - Content analysis
KW - Medication errors
KW - Mental health nurses
KW - Students
KW - Survey
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84956803615&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/ijn.12266
DO - 10.1111/ijn.12266
M3 - Article
C2 - 24666641
AN - SCOPUS:84956803615
VL - 21
SP - 733
EP - 740
JO - International Journal of Nursing Practice
JF - International Journal of Nursing Practice
SN - 1322-7114
IS - 6
ER -