Safety checks, monitoring and documentation in medication process in long-term elderly care : nurses' subjective perceptions

Abstract

Objective: Elderly people often use several medicines, which increases risks for side effects and adverse effects. Moreover, most reported adverse events in healthcare are associated with medication. The aim was to describe nursing staffs’ perceptions about and the factors related to the actualization of safety checks, monitoring and documentation in the medication process in long-term elderly care. Methods: This was a cross-sectional quantitative, questionnaire-based study. The response rate, among all nurses working in long-term elderly care wards in a Finnish healthcare district, was 39.4% (n = 492). Results: The results indicate that some safety checks and monitoring guidelines are often violated during the medication administration process, but most nurses self-reportedly maintained good practice in medication documentation. Conclusions: The results suggest needs to review training in pharmacology, infection control, and medication calculations during pre-qualification and continuing education, and to ensure nurses’ awareness of attitudes and ethical considerations for medication safety.