{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T11:18:59Z","timestamp":1787570339182,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785542400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785542400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Medication errors contribute significantly to patient harm and healthcare costs worldwide. However, there is limited evidence on their prevalence and characteristics in Cameroon.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To estimate the prevalence, types, and associated factors of medication errors in a tertiary hospital and identify targets for safety interventions in Cameroon.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study adopted a hospital-based retrospective cross-sectional design to examine medication errors in a tertiary hospital in the Northwest Region of Cameroon.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This retrospective cross-sectional study reviewed the medical records of 1,360 randomly selected patients from multiple wards and the outpatient department over six months (January\u2013July 2023). Medication errors was defined using the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error and Prevention framework, encompassing prescribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring. Descriptive statistics characterises the prevalence, types, and associated factors of errors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The prevalence of hospital-based medication errors was (44.5% = 606\/1360). Prescription errors accounted for (21.7% = 295\/1360), administration errors 15.5% = 211\/1360), and transcription errors (2.2% = 30\/1360). Among administration errors, overdose predominated (12.8% = 174\/1360), while underdose and wrong drug administration each represented (1.8% = 25\/1360). Critical gaps emerged in managing patients with multiple comorbidities (59.4% = 808\/1360) and unaddressed potential drug\u2013drug interactions (40% = 544\/1360). System-level factors included staff negligence (14.2% = 193\/1360) and open-ended prescriptions (11.4% = 155\/1360). Notably, perceived work overload and peak hour pressures were not identified as associated factors (0.0%). Ward-specific error rates are presented in the main text results section with breakdown by Men\u2019s Ward, Women\u2019s Ward, Surgical Ward, Ulcer Ward, and OPD\/Pharmacy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Medication errors are highly prevalent and are driven primarily by system-level deficiencies and clinical practice gaps rather than workload pressures. Urgent interventions are needed, including comprehensive medication management services, improved documentation, enhanced staff training, and structured medication safety policies to reduce medication errors and improving patient safety.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1177\/20420986261477866","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T14:30:51Z","timestamp":1787322651000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["An assessment of medication errors and associated factors to strengthen patient safety practices in a tertiary hospital in Cameroon"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-0938-4513","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alberic Ndonku","family":"Signang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Antwerp"},{"name":"Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-9571-2552","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mbohjim Othniel","family":"Mobit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Baptist Institute of Health Sciences (BIHS)"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Taneh Yvonne","family":"Shee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jaques Van","family":"Heerden","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Antwerp"},{"name":"SIOP Global Health Network"},{"name":"BSPHO - Belgian Society of Paediatric Haematology Oncology, Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_7_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-022-08864-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_3_2","unstructured":"National Coordinating Council on Medication Error Reporting and Prevention. Reducing Medication Errors Associated with At-risk Behaviors by Healthcare Professionals [Recommendations\/Statements]. [cited 2026 Jun 28]. Available from: https:\/\/www.nccmerp.org\/recommendations-statements (2025)."},{"key":"e_1_3_7_4_2","unstructured":"WHO Launches Global Effort to Halve Medication-Related Errors in 5 Years. [cited 2025 Apr 21]. Available from: https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/29-03-2017-who-launches-global-effort-to-halve-medication-related-errors-in-5-years"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_5_2","article-title":"MEDICAL ERRORS IN HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS IN CAMEROON: SETTING THE PLATFORM FOR LEGAL INTERVENTION","author":"Ndi R","year":"2023","unstructured":"Ndi R, Tata KE. MEDICAL ERRORS IN HEALTH CARE INSTITUTIONS IN CAMEROON: SETTING THE PLATFORM FOR LEGAL INTERVENTION. Indian Journal of Health and Medical Law [Internet] 2023, [cited 2025 Apr 18]. Available from: https:\/\/lawjournals.celnet.in\/index.php\/ijhml\/article\/view\/578","journal-title":"Indian Journal of Health and Medical Law [Internet]"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s40264-021-01144-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjqs-2019-010206"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/fcp.12873"},{"issue":"7","key":"e_1_3_7_9_2","first-page":"e16769","article-title":"Evaluation of Medication Errors in a Tertiary Care Hospital of a Low-to Middle-Income Country","volume":"13","author":"Parthasarathi A","year":"2021","unstructured":"Parthasarathi A, Puvvada R, Patel H, et al. Evaluation of Medication Errors in a Tertiary Care Hospital of a Low-to Middle-Income Country. Cureus 2021; 13(7): e16769, PubMed PMID: 34354894; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8328840. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7759\/cureus.16769","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.288.4.501"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-16479-7"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_3_7_12_2","first-page":"3","article-title":"Prevalence and causes of medication transcription errors among hospitalized patients: An observational study and survey of nurses at a faith-based hospital in Cameroon","volume":"2","author":"Ntani SN","year":"2024","unstructured":"Ntani SN, Sangha YMN. Prevalence and causes of medication transcription errors among hospitalized patients: An observational study and survey of nurses at a faith-based hospital in Cameroon. Glob Health Econ Sustain 2024; 2(3): 3. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.36922\/ghes.2457","journal-title":"Glob Health Econ Sustain"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.22-0221"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.20-1346"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2471\/BLT.22.288293"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_3_7_16_2","first-page":"245","article-title":"Frequency and Patterns of Adverse Drug Reactions among Elderly In-Patients in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital","volume":"8","author":"Nwani PO","year":"2017","unstructured":"Nwani PO, Isah AO. Frequency and Patterns of Adverse Drug Reactions among Elderly In-Patients in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital. J Basic Clin Pharm 2017; 8(4): 245, [cited 2026 Jun 28] Available from. https:\/\/www.jbclinpharm.org\/abstract\/frequency-and-patterns-of-adverse-drug-reactions-among-elderlyrninpatients-in-a-nigerian-teaching-hospital-3939.html","journal-title":"J Basic Clin Pharm"},{"key":"e_1_3_7_17_2","unstructured":"Medication Without Harm [Internet]. [cited 2025 Apr 18]. 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