The Determination of the Risk Between the Sleep Quality and Medication Application Errors of Nurses Working in Surgical Clinics

Purpose: The study aims to determine the relationship between the sleep quality of nurses working in surgical services and the risk of medication errors. Materials and Methods: The study, which has both descriptive and correlational features, was carried out in the surgical clinics of Ankara's four public hospitals and one private hospital between January 15- April 15 2023 with a total of 192 nurses. The data were collected using the "Nurse Introduction Form," Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and Medication Administration Error Scale. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Statistics 26 package program was used for the statistical analysis of the data. The test methods used in the analyses are as follows; Pearson correlation coefficient, Independent Sample T-Test, One-way analysis of variance , and Tukey's test. The statistical significance level was set at p<0.05. Findings: The average age of the nurses participating in the study is 29.58±6.95. It was found that 40,6% of nurses have a working period of 1-5 years, 37,5% have a weekly working time of 40 hours, 46,4% work 6-10 shifts per month, and 54,2% work a day-night shift. 81,3% of nurses reported having trouble sleeping due to their working hours, and 44,3% indicated making medication errors due to sleep deprivation. The total Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores of the nurses were 10,10±4,31, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores were 10,57±5,09. Statistically significant differences were found in Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores based on variables such as the number of duty shifts in a month, work pattern, the impact of working the night shift on nursing care and making medication errors due to sleep deprivation (p<0,05). It was found that the Medication Administration Error Scale scores showed statistically significant differences according to the variables of working time in the profession and weekly working hours (p<0,05). In the study, although there was no statistically significant relationship between the nurses' Medication Administration Error Scale score and the total Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores, statistically significant low-level positive relationships were found between the nurses' Medication Administration Error Scale scores and Subjective Sleep and Daytime Dysfunction scores. (p<0,05). Conclusion: In the study, it was found that nurses had poor sleep quality and high levels of daytime sleepiness. Furthermore, a relationship was found between Subjective Sleep and Daytime Dysfunction scores and making medication errors. Therefore, in order to prevent medication administration errors and to ensure a healthy sleep pattern, it is recommended to regulate the working methods and hours of nurses. Keywords: Medication error, nurse, sleep quality, surgical clinics.