Municipal home care staff and their experience of having delegation for administration of drugs
Pia Ekman, RN, MSc , Annika Sjörs, RN, MSc, Ingrid From, RN, Ph.D., Marika Marusarz, Ph.D.
Background: Municipal home care staff should be able to work from a community heath perspective and have knowledge of delegation for administration of drugs.
Aim: The aim of the study was to describe the experiences of staff in home care after receiving delegation for the administration of drugs and how they managed with problems that might arise associated with drug administration.
Method: Ten informants were interviewed with a qualitative approach describing their experiences of delegation for administration of drugs.
Findings: The management and administration of drugs were perceived as unsafe. Home care staff lacked information on drug efficacy and side effects. Furthermore, they expressed the need of annual monitoring of the delegation moment. The working system TES was experienced as stressful and a possible risk factor for failure in managing delegations.
Conclusion: There was a need for the development and improvement of information clarifying the delegation of drug administration in order to enhance engagement and a safe drug administration. Furthermore there is a need of allocating additional time for drug administration and further education. It is important to review the responsibilities and continuity of cooperation between nurses and health professionals.
Key words: delegation, home care staff, administration of drugs, experience, medical tasks
2014.