Prevalence, pattern and determinants of medical errors among health workers in suburban, Edo State, Nigeria: A multicenter study

Background: Medical errors are preventable adverse events that significantly impact patient safety, healthcare costs, and public trust.Understanding their prevalence, patterns, and determinants is essential for improving healthcare quality and safety.Objectives: This study assessed the prevalence, patterns, and determinants of medical errors among healthcare workers in Edo State, Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across a tertiary and a primary healthcare facility using stratified random sampling to recruit 324 healthcare workers.Data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire that covered sociodemographic characteristics, prevalence and types of medical errors, and their determinants.Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression to identify significant associations and predictors of errors, with a significance threshold of p < 0.05.Results: The prevalence of self-reported medical errors was 58.6%, with medication errors (46.3%) being the most common, followed by laboratory errors (31.6%) and wrong communication with patients (30.0%).Among medication errors, dose omissions (60.2%) and wrong dose administration (43.2%) were predominant, while less than one year of experience significantly increased the odds of errors (OR = 3.17, p = 0.009).Fear of consequences (53.7%) and lack of reporting systems (19.1%) were key barriers to error reporting.Conclusion: The high prevalence and varied patterns of medical errors underscore the need for systemic interventions, including enhanced training, mentorship programs, and error-reporting systems to improve patient safety and healthcare outcomes.