Effect of Warning Symbols Combined with Education on the Frequency of Erroneously Crushing Medication in Nursing Homes: An Uncontrolled Before and After Study

The study evaluated the impact of warning symbols and education on reducing medication crushing errors in nursing homes. Conducted in 3 nursing homes in the Netherlands, involving 36 nurses and 197 patients, the intervention included warning symbols on medication packaging and educational materials for staff. Results showed a significant decrease in crushing errors from 3.1% to 0.5%, with a relative risk reduction of 0.15. For patients with swallowing difficulties, errors decreased from 87.5% to 30.0%. The study concluded that combining warning symbols with education effectively reduced medication crushing errors, addressing a common issue in nursing homes.