Medical Error and Under-Reporting Causes from the Viewpoints of Nursing Managers: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: Patient safety as a goal can be achieved by reporting medical errors (ME); however, most errors are never reported. The aim of this study is to explore the causes of ME, and the obstacles in reporting them amongst nurses. METHODS: We conducted semi-structural interviews, with 12 nursing managers in the biggest teaching hospital in southern Iran (2015-2016). The interview guide concentrated on the causes of ME and barriers in reporting them. All face-to-face interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: In this study 4 main themes were extracted for the causes of ME: personal/social characteristics, nonprofessional practice, hospital related factors/organization contextual factors, and poor management. Also, 5 main themes (such as; personal characteristics, fear from reporting, nonprofessional practices, cultural and social factors, and error surveillance system features) were obtained with regards to barriers in reporting. CONCLUSIONS: ME can be reduced by improving professional practice and better human resource management. Also, reporting errors can be increased by focusing on cultural and social factors.