Missed nursing care and its relationship with confidence in delegation among hospital nurses.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To (i) identify the types and reasons for missed nursing care among Jordanian hospital nurses; (ii) identify predictors of missed nursing care based on study variables; and (iii) examine the relationship between nurses' confidence in delegation and missed nursing care.

BACKGROUND

Missed nursing care is a global concern for nurses and nurse administrators. Investigating the relation between the confidence in delegation and missed nursing care might help in designing strategies that enable nurses to minimise missed care and enhance quality of services.

METHODS

A correlational research design was used for this study. A convenience sample of 362 hospital nurses completed the missed nursing care survey, and confidence and intent to delegate scale.

RESULTS

The results of the study revealed that ambulating and feeding patients on time, doing mouth care and attending interdisciplinary care conferences were the most frequent types of missed care. The mean score for missed nursing care was (2.78) on a scale from 1-5. The most prevalent reasons for missed care were "labour resources, followed by material resources, and then communication". Around 45% of the variation in the perceived level of "missed nursing care" was explained by background variables and perceived reasons for missed nursing. However, the relationship between confidence in delegation and missed care was insignificant.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study add to the body of international literature on most prevalent types and reasons for missed nursing care in a different cultural context.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Highlighting most prevalent reasons for missed nursing care could help nurse administrators in designing responsive strategies to eliminate or reduces such reasons.