Estimating Proportion and Barriers of Medication Error Reporting Among Nurses in Hail City, Saudi Arabia: Implications for Improving Patient Safety

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics of Nurses Included in the Study (N = 350)

Characteristic	n	(%)
Sex
Male	162	(46.3)
Female	188	(53.7)
Age (years)
<30	104	(29.7)
30–40	198	(56.6)
> 40	48	(13.7)
Median (IQR):	32.5 (9)
Range:	24–45
Marital status
Single	127	(36.3)
Married	209	(59.7)
Divorced/Widowed	14	(4.0)
Education level
Diploma	39	(11.1)
Bachelor	265	(75.7)
Master	46	(13.2)
Nationality
Saudi	245	(70.0)
Non-Saudi	105	(30.0)
Length of experience (years)
<5	133	(38.0)
5–10	108	(30.9)
>10	109	(31.1)
Median (IQR):	8 (8)
Department
ICU	115	(32.9)
Internal ward	106	(30.3)
Emergency	81	(23.1)
Outpatient clinic	48	(13.7)
Current position
Assist nurse	22	(6.3)
Registered nurse	261	(74.5)
Head nurse	22	(6.3)
Supervisor	45	(12.9)
Working hours per week
< 48	171	(48.9)
≥ 48	179	(51.1)
Nurse-to-patient ratio
1:1	18	(5.1)
1:2	72	(20.6)
1:3	49	(14.0)
1:4	40	(11.4)
1:5	48	(13.7)
1:≥6	123	(35.2)
Patient contact methods
Direct	305	(87.1)
Indirect	45	(12.9)

Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; ICU, intensive care unit.

Table 2 Association of Sociodemographic and Work-Related Characteristics with Experiencing MEs, Reporting MEs, and Attitudes Towards Barriers to ME Reporting Among Nurses

Variable	N	Experiencing MEs (11.1%)			Reporting MEs (34.3%)			Attitudes Towards Barriers
		Yes^an (%)		p-value	Yes^an (%)		p-value	Mean^b rank	p-value
Age (years)
<30	104	7	(6.7)	0.156	31	29.8	0.018	186.8	0.023*
30–40	198	24	(12.1)		64	32.3		178.2
> 40	48	8	(16.7)		25	52.1		139.9
Sex
Male	162	28	(17.3)	<0.010*	67	(41.4)	0.001*	162.6	0.025*
Female	188	11	(5.9)		53	(28.2)		186.6
Marital status
Single	127	6	(4.7)	0.016*	41	(32.3)	0.437	175.8	0.606
Married	209	31	(14.8)		76	(36.4)		173.6
Divorced/Widowed	14	2	(14.3)		3	(21.4)		201.3
Education level
Diploma	39	7	(17.9)	0.091	7	(17.9)	<0.001*	207.3	<0.001*
Bachelor	265	24	(9.1)		86	(32.5)		180.1
Master	46	8	(17.4)		27	(58.7)		122.0
Nationality
Saudi	245	33	(13.4)	0.038*	93	(37.8)	0.033*	174.4	0.747
Non-Saudi	105	6	(5.8)		27	(26.0)		178.2
Length of experience (years)
<5	133	8	(6.0)	0.048*	35	(26.3)	0.023*	185.6	0.230
5–10	108	14	(13.0)		38	(35.2)		175.3
>10	109	17	(15.6)		47	(43.1)		163.4
Department
ICU	115	13	(11.3)	0.779	51	(44.3)	0.046*	165.3	0.211
Internal ward	106	12	(11.3)		32	(30.2)		188.1
Emergency	81	7	(8.6)		22	(27.2)		183.0
Outpatient clinic	48	7	(14.6)		15	(31.3)		159.6
Current position
Assist nurse	22	3	(13.6)	0.429	8	(36.4)	0.820	165.7	0.237
Registered nurse	261	25	(9.6)		86	(33.0)		187.1
Head nurse	22	4	(18.2)		9	(40.9)		183.7
Supervisor	45	7	(15.6)		17	(37.8)		159.7
Working hours per week
< 48	171	17	(9.9)	0.485	49	(28.7)	0.030*	194.1	<0.001*
≥ 48	179	22	(12.3)		71	(39.7)		157.8
Nurse-to-patient ratio
1:1	18	2	(11.1)	0.510	4	(22.2)	0.020*	141.3	0.670
1:2	72	5	(6.9)		26	(36.1)		171.1
1:3	49	7	(14.3)		22	(44.9)		171.7
1:4	40	2	(5.0)		8	(20.0)		175.3
1:5	48	6	(12.5)		10	(20.8)		186.8
1:≥6	123	17	(13.8)		50	(40.7)		180.2
Patient contact methods
Direct	305	32	(10.5)	0.314	70	(44.6)	0.597	177.3	0.390
Indirect	45	7	(15.6)		50	(25.9)		163.5
Presence of a system for incident reporting in the hospital^a
No	45	4	(8.9)	0.607	103	(33.8)	<0.001*	174.3	0.930
Yes	305	35	(11.5)		17	(37.8)		175.7
Training on patient safety
No	157	24	(15.3)	0.026*	5	(11.1)	<0.001*	151.5	<0.001*
Yes	193	15	(7.8)		115	(37.7)		195.0

Notes: Star sign (*) and bold text indicate significant results. ^aChi-square test was conducted. ^bMann–Whitney U-test or Kruskal–Wallis H-test was conducted.

Abbreviations: ME, Medication error; ICU, intensive care unit.

Table 3 Association of Experiencing Errors, Reporting MEs and Attitudes Towards Barriers to ME Reporting Among Nurses and Their Perception of Reporting MEs

Items	Overall n(%)	Experiencing MEs 39(11.1%)		Reporting MEs 120(34.3%)		Attitudes Towards Barriers
		Yes^an(%)	p-value	Yes^a n(%)	p-value	Mean^b Rank	p-value
Should medication errors be reported?
No	18(5.1)	3(16.7)	0.444	2(11.1)	0.033	160.2	0.506
Yes	332(94.9)	36(10.8)		118(35.5)		176.3
One should always report all medication errors he/she had done
No	30(8.6)	4(13.3)	0.690	9(30)	0.605	168.6	0.692
Yes	320(91.4)	35(10.9)		111(34.7)		176.2
One should always report all medication errors made by others
No	72(20.6)	6(8.3)	0.395	21(29.2)	0.305	168.4	0.500
Yes	278(79.4)	33(11.9)		99(35.6)		177.3
One should always report all errors he/she discovers
No	40(11.4)	2(5.1)	0.230	9(23.1)	0.115	181.9	0.648
Yes	310(88.6)	37(11.9)		111(35.8)		174.1
To whom do you prefer reporting medication errors?
Team leader nurse	249(71.1)	24(9.6)	0.393	76(30.5)	0.084	174.3	0.801
Nursing director	50(14.3)	9(18.0)		20(40)		176.7
Intern doctor	2(0.6)	0(0.0)		0(0)		260.0
Medical director	5(1.4)	0(0.0)		2(40)		194.5
Concerned specialist	44(12.6)	6(13.6)		22(50)		175.0

Notes: Star sign (*) and bold text indicate significant results. ^aChi-square test was conducted. ^bMann–Whitney U-test or Kruskal–Wallis H-tests was conducted.

Abbreviation: ME, Medication error.

Figure 1 Perceived barriers to ME reporting among nurses in public hospitals of Hail city, Saudi Arabia.

Table 4 Perceptions of Organizational Culture Regarding Reporting MEs Among Nurses in Public Hospitals of Hail City, Saudi Arabia

Perception Item	n	(%)
ME reporting leads to a beneficial and constructive activity	305	(87.1)
Discovering MEs has a negative impact on the nurse’s possible development and career in the organizational hierarchy.	276	(78.8)

Abbreviation: ME, Medication error.

Data Sharing Statement

The corresponding author will provide the data from this study upon request.