Questionnaire Survey on Handling of Injections by Hospital Nurses

The aims of this study were to clarify the present situation of the handling (e.g. storage, administration and preparation) of injections by nurses in hospital wards and to find out what kind of drug information on injections should be provided to hospital nurses. The questionnaire survey targeted hospital nurses in Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University-affiliated hospitals. It consisted of multiple-choice questions on ways of shielding injections against light, the use of injection filters, selection of non-adsorptive cannulae, preparation of anti-cancer injections and necessity of drug information on injections. Nurses who filled out the questionnaire remained anonymous and their responses were analyzed for all the nurses together and by length of service as a nurse. Of the ninety-three percent of the nurses who responded to the questionnaire (264/285), 99 % paid careful attention to shielding against light during storage but more than 50% of them were not able to make a clear distinction between photo-degradability during administration as a drip and storage. Ninety-one percent of the respondents knew which injections should be filtered and which should not. Concerning injections using non-adsorptive cannulae, the proper tubing was selected by 95 % of nurses with more than 2 years of service and by 65 % of those with less than 2 years of service. Nine percent of the respondents were not concerned about the effect of exposure to anti-cancer drugs during preparation on their future health.In conclusion, our survey revealed that hospitals need to provide more information on the handling of injections to nurses as well as more drug information pertaining to injections.