Identifying the Effective Factors in Occurrence of Medication Errors in Children Infected with HIV/AIDS Virus in Iran's Health System Using the Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Narges Keshtkar; Iravan Masoudi Asl; Somayeh Hessam; Soad Mahfoozpour

doi:10.18502/ssu.v31i8.13944

Narges Keshtkar Department of Health Services Management, Faculty of Management, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Iravan Masoudi Asl Department of Health Services Management, School of Management and Medical Information, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Somayeh Hessam Department of Health Services Management, Faculty of Management, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Soad Mahfoozpour Department of Health Services Management, Faculty of Management, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ssu.v31i8.13944

Keywords: Treatment, Retrovirus, HIV/AIDS, children, Patient safety, Structural equation modeling, Exploratory factor analysis.

Abstract

Introduction: Medication errors reduce quality of life, immune system function, and cause significant mortality in children with HIV/AIDS. The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying and explaining the factors affecting the management of medication errors in children infected with HIV/AIDS virus in Iran's health system.

Methods: The current study was a descriptive one conducted in 2020-2021. At first, by reviewing the research literature and interviewing experts in the field of treating children with HIV/AIDS virus, the main factors affecting the occurrence of medication errors in children with HIV/AIDS virus were extracted and using them, the research questionnaire was designed. Data were collected from 400 experts in the field of treating children with HIV/AIDS virus and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and through SPSS version 16 and Lisrel software.

Results: Four factors included organizational factors (p < 0.001), individual factors (p < 0.001), educational factors (p < 0.001) and communication factors (p < 0.001), were identified as effective factors in the management of medication errors in children with HIV/AIDS virus. Factors including Individual, communication, organizational and educational with respective factor loadings of 0.84, 0.81, 0.79 and 0.77 had an effect on the management of medication errors in HIV positive children.

Conclusion: For successful management of medication errors in children infected with HIV/AIDS, it is advisable to prioritize individual and communication factors (i.e., behavior-based disease counseling specialists) while attending to all four of the relevant factors.