ABSTRACT
Objectives: Medication errors (MEs) are the most common cause of adverse drug events (ADEs) and one of the most encountered patient safety issues in clinical settings. This study aimed to determine the types of MEs in secondary care hospitals in Kuwait and identify their causes. Also, it sought to determine the existing system of error reporting in Kuwait and identify reporting barriers from the perspectives of healthcare professionals (HCPs). Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire. Full-time physicians, pharmacists, and nurses (aged 21 years and older) working in secondary care governmental hospitals in Kuwait were considered eligible to participate in the study. Descriptive statistics and the Statistical Package for Social Science Software (SPSS), version 27 were used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 215 HCPs were approached and asked to take part in the study, of which 208 agreed, giving a response rate of 96.7%. Most HCPs (n = 129, 62.0%) reported that the most common type of ME is "prescribing error," followed by "compliance error" (n = 83; 39.9%). Most HCPs thought that a high workload and lack of enough breaks (n = 128; 61.5%) were the most common causes of MEs, followed by miscommunication, either among medical staff or between staff and patients, which scored (n = 89; 42.8%) and (n = 82; 39.4%), respectively. In the past 12 months, 77.4% (n = 161) of HCPs reported that they did not fill out any ME incident reports. The lack of feedback (n = 65; 31.3%), as well as the length and complexity of the existing incident reporting forms (n = 63; 30.3%), were the major barriers against reporting any identified MEs. Conclusions: MEs are common in secondary care hospitals in Kuwait and can be found at many stages of practice. HCPs suggested many strategies to help reduce MEs, including proper communication between HCPs; double-checking every step of the process before administering medications to patients; providing training to keep HCPs up to date on any new treatment guidelines, and computerizing the health system.
ABSTRACT
Anthropometric indicators can predict the development of diabetes among adults. Among them, a new indicator (Body Shape Index) was developed. Several cohort observational studies have demonstrated that A Body Shape Index (ABSI) is a prominent indicator for mortality and morbidity. Nevertheless, the predictive level of ABSI for diabetes varied among different ethnicities. This study aimed to assess the predictive level of ABSI for diabetes compared to BMI in the Qatari population. Date from 2536 Qatari adults aged 20-79 years attending the Qatar Biobank Study were used. Body height, weight, and waist circumference were measured. Blood samples were measured for glucose. The association between ABSI, BMI, and diabetes was assessed using a logistic regression. Both ABSI and BMI were positively associated with diabetes after adjusting for potential confounding factors. ABSI had a stronger association with diabetes than BMI. Per 1 SD increment of ABSI and BMI, the z-score had an odds ratios of 1.85 (1.54-2.23) and 1.34 (1.18-1.51) for diabetes, respectively. ABSI and BMI are significantly associated with diabetes in the Qatari population. ABSI is a better predictor for the risk of diabetes than BMI after the adjustment for age, gender, education, and physical activity.
