The Role of General Health in the Occurrence of Nursing Errors, among the Nurses in Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2012

  Introduction: Decline in the general health not only causes problems for nurses, but also by affecting the provided services by them, will impact the health of society. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between nurses general health role in the occurrence of nursing errors among the nurses at Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2012.  Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 522 nurses working in Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. In order to collect the data three questionnaires including demographic data, general health (General Health Questionnaire -28), and Nursing error were used. The data were analyzed based on Logistic regression and T-Test.   Results: The results showed that the General health of nurses declined with: being female (p=0.026) and an increase in the number of night shifts (p=0.021). Four subscales of public health (Physical, Social, Anxiety, Depression) were also investigated. 53.7 % of nurses experienced high anxiety . The results showed a statistically significant relationship between Nursing error and general health ( P=0.000). Nursing errors was higher in women than in men (p= 0.003). Factors such as the number of night shifts (p=0.023) and having children under one year old (p=0.05) was significantly associated with nursing error.   Conclusion: Nursing error is known to be a factor in the reduction of the quality of patient care. A change in the occupational factors such as age , sex, marital status and reduction of number of night shifts can improve the general health of the nurses and ultimately promote the quality of caring in patients and reduce nursing errors.