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To provide an overview of quantitative research studies that report inferential statistics on the associations between interruptions and medication administration errors among nurses in hospital settings.
A scoping review guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews.
Quantitative research studies conducted among nurses in hospital settings and published in English were sought. Covidence software was used by two authors to independently screen titles, abstracts, and full-text articles. Two authors performed an independent data extraction using a standardised extraction template.
Ovid Medline, EMBASE (Elsevier), CINAHL (EBSCOHost), Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched from the database inception through October 2024. Citation searching was also used to locate relevant studies.
Twenty-two studies met the review criteria. Studies were conducted in nine different countries, often in more than one hospital, and in various nursing units. Definitions of interruption and medication administration error frequently differed across studies or were not provided. Data were collected via direct observation, self-report survey, a combination of direct observation and self-report, or retrospective review of records. Most (n = 16; 73%) studies reported a statistically significant positive association between interruptions and medication administration errors.
Globally, interruptions are prevalent during nurse medication administration, and a majority of studies report a positive association between interruptions and medication administration errors. Continued investigation of this association using standard definitions of interruption and medication administration error, as well as consistent methods, is needed to strengthen research in this area.
The findings from this review can be used to inform future primary research, potential systematic reviews, and the development of targeted interventions to enhance medication safety and nursing practice in hospital environments worldwide.
Reporting was guided by Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review method and the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews.
No patient or public contributions were made to this scoping review.
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