Beratiye ÖNER
Eurasian Journal of Health Technology Assessment - 2025;9(2):68-79
Abstract Background: Accurate dose calculation during medication administration is a critical responsibility in nursing. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of a peer-education program designed to improve nursing students' numerical skills and medication-calculation abilities. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial with pretest-posttest parallel groups among 55 first-year nursing students at a foundation university in Türkiye in 2024 (intervention group =27; control group =28). The intervention group received a three-week, five-session peer-assisted medication-calculation program delivered by trained mentor students. In each session, students solved numerical and medication-calculation problems in small groups. Data were collected using a Student Information Form, a Numerical Skills Assessment, and a Medication Calculation Ability Assessment. Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used (alpha=0.05). Results: At baseline, groups did not differ by age, sex, grade point average, or other demographics (p> 0.05), except for choosing the profession voluntarily (p= 0.023). Posttest medication-calculation scores were significantly higher in the intervention group (67.0+/-24.9) than in controls (48.7+/-21.6) (p= 0.002, r= 0.41). Significant improvements favoring the intervention were also observed in subscales for solid/liquid/oral dose calculations (p= 0.012, r=0.33), injection dose calculations (p= 0.006, r= 0.37), and percent solutions/intravenous fluid calculations (p= 0.014, r= 0.33). Numerical-skill levels did not differ significantly between groups (p> 0.05). Conclusions: Peer-education produced a significant, moderate improvement in nursing students' medication-calculation skills. Peer-supported instruction appears to be an effective strategy to enhance relevant cognitive skills and clinical practice competencies. Integrating peer-education components into curricula is recommended to strengthen safe medication administration and help reduce calculation-related errors.
