Methodological Study to Develop Standard Operational Protocol on Intramuscular (IM), Intradermal (ID) and Subcutaneous Drug Administration for Children

Abstract

Introduction: Medicine administration is a major role played by registered nurses. Medicines are prescribed by the physician and dispensed by the pharmacist but responsibility for meticulous administration rests with the registered nurse. It becomes even more important when drugs are to be administered to children. Drug administration via Intramuscular (IM), Intradermal (ID) and Subcutaneous route is a complex process. Errors are associated with medicine administration. Aim: The objective of this study was to develop Standard Operational Protocol (SOP) for IM, ID and Subcutaneous drug administration and checklist to assess the implementation of the developed SOP. Materials and Methods: A methodological research design adapted to carry out the present study to develop standard operational protocol for IM, ID and subcutaneous drug administration for children, admitted in Advanced Paediatric Centre, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. The study included 58 bedside nurses and 90 observations of medicine administration procedure. Results: The Content Validity Index (CVI) was prepared to assess the validity of content (items) of SOPs and checklists. Over all Cronbach's-alpha values was calculated to assess the internal consistency of Items in SOPs and checklists. CVI of SOP and checklists were 98.51%, 97.83% and 99.03%. Over all Cronbach'salpha values were calculated 0.96, 0.82 and 0.95. All the nurses felt that SOPs are useful. Conclusion: Valid and feasible SOPs for drug administration in children along with valid and reliable checklists were developed. It is recommended to use this document for drug administration in children to prevent any possible error during drug administration to children.

Keywords

• Content validity index
• Delphi-technique
• Nurse