title: The perceptions of nurses towards barriers to the safe administration of medicines in mental health settings.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health, School of Health and Human Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hemingway
authors.affiliation: Nursing Research, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Terence
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McCann
authors.affiliation: Older Peoples and Learning Disabilities Service Clinical Governance Support Team, Fieldhead Hospital, South West Yorkshire Partnership Foundation Health Trust, Wakefield, UK.
authors.forename: Hazel
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baxter
authors.affiliation: Nurse Education Leadership and Development, Fieldhead Hospital, South West Yorkshire Partnership Foundation Health Trust, Wakefield, UK.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Practice Learning Facilitation Office, Castleford & Normanton District Hospital, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Castleford, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burgess-Dawson
authors.affiliation: Fieldhead Hospital, South West Yorkshire Partnership Foundation Health Trust, Wakefield, UK.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dewhirst
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing
keywords: content analysis; medication errors; mental health nurses; students; survey