Factors that condition the spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions among nurses: an integrative review

Abstract

Aim: To describe and synthesise previous research on factors conditioning the spontaneous reporting of adverse drug reactions among nurses.

Background: Spontaneous reports of adverse drug reactions by health-care providers, are a main instrument for the continuous evaluation of the risk-benefit ratio of every drug. Under-reporting of adverse drug reactions by all health-care providers, in particular by nurses, is a major limitation to this system.

Evaluation: An integrated review of the literature was conducted using MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus databases and Google Scholar. After evaluation for appropriateness related to inclusion/exclusion criteria, 16 studies were included in the final analysis and synthesis.

Key issues: Two factors emerged from the study: (1) intrinsic factors related to nurses' knowledge and attitudes; (2) extrinsic factors related to nurses' interaction with health-care organisations and to the relationship between nurses and physicians. Nurses' attitudes that hinder reporting include ignorance, insecurity, fear and lethargy.

Conclusions: Nurses are not fully aware of their role in adverse drug reaction reporting. Nurses must acquire greater knowledge to implement specific skills into their daily clinical practice.

Implications for nursing management: To improve nurses' reporting of adverse drug reactions, it is necessary to develop management approaches that modify both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

Keywords: adverse drug reaction reporting systems; attitudes; nurses; pharmacovigilance.