The handling of hazardous medications by nurses and midwives: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Background

Occupational exposure of healthcare workers to hazardous medications can be potentially harmful. Hazardous medications can be carcinogenic, developmentally toxic, reproductively toxic, genotoxic and/or toxic to organs at low doses. These hazardous medications can be used in many healthcare settings, but published research of occupational exposure has focused almost exclusively on cancer services.

Aim

To identify the healthcare settings where nurses and midwives are responsible for the administration of hazardous medications.

Method

A retrospective cohort study was undertaken of all medication administration events occurring during a two-week period at a public metropolitan health service in 2023. All medication administration events from six hospital sites were identified using the electronic (Oracle Health-Cerner-Millennium®) and paper (Chemotherapy Chart) medication administration records. From all of the medications administered, the subset of medications classified as hazardous were identified based on the Victorian Therapeutics Advisory Group Framework for Handling of Hazardous Medicines (2021) and other guidelines. Poisson regression modelling was used to explore associations between the number of hazardous medications and the healthcare area where they were administered (p < 0.001).

Results

Of the 121,567 administration events, 6054 (5.0 %) involved hazardous medications. The healthcare areas with the highest rate of hazardous medication administration events, as a proportion of all medication administration events, were outpatient cancer service (301/695, 43.3 %), birth suite (13/86, 15.1 %) and mental health (404/4011, 10.1 %) areas. During the two-week period, 6054 hazardous medication administration events occurred, involving 117 different medications. The greatest number of these events took place in the medical (1729/6054, 28.6 %) and geriatric (1579/6054, 26.1 %) inpatient healthcare areas. A total of 1258 nurses and midwives were directly involved in either administering, or checking and witnessing the administration of hazardous medications to 996 patients (25.2 % of the total 3958 patients). Most hazardous medications administered to patients were in an oral dosage form (5426/6054, 89.6 %).

Conclusion

Hazardous medications were administered in all healthcare areas, with the exception of endoscopy services. Nurses and midwives were at risk of occupational exposure from hazardous medications.