Subjective fatigue and medical errors among nurses in an educational hospital

Saremi, Mahnaz; Fallah, Mohammad Reza

Volume 10, Issue 4 (2013) ioh 2013, 10(4): 1-8 | Back to browse issues page

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Saremi M, Fallah M R. Subjective fatigue and medical errors among nurses in an educational hospital . ioh 2013; 10 (4) :1-8
URL: http://ioh.iums.ac.ir/article-1-805-en.html

Subjective fatigue and medical errors among nurses in an educational hospital

Mahnaz Saremi ^*

, Mohammad Reza Fallah

sbmu , m.saremi@sbmu.ac.ir

Abstract: (11118 Views)

Background and aims: The importance of investigating fatigue is related to its' adverse consequences. In the health and medical services, increased rate of errors and accidents is usually observed as increased medical errors and decreased patient care, and patient safety. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on a group of hospital nurses volunteered to participate. The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory questionnaire (MFI-20) was applied. Indeed, an author made questionnaire was used in order to collect required information about personal, occupational and medical error. Results: Fatigue decreased respectively from General, Physical and Mental fatigue to reduced activity and motivation. Younger nurses reported lower level of general and mental fatigue compared to the older ones (p<0.05). The severity of medical error was related to mental fatigue (p<0.05) as well as with driving accident on the way between home and work (p<0.05). Conclusion: Because of the potential effect of fatigue on medical errors and their severity, it is essential to develop appropriate programs as well as risk management solutions in order to reduce negative consequence of fatigue especially in medical field.

Keywords: Fatigue, Medical error, MFI questionnaire, Nurses

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Type of Study: Research | Subject: Ergonomics
Received: 2012/09/15 | Accepted: 2013/01/1 | Published: 2013/11/16