Prevalence of Missed Nursing Care and Associated Factors - a Nurse’s Perspective - at the Oncology Departments in Gaza Strip, Palestine

Abstract

Background: The present study aims to determine the prevalence of nursing missed care and associated factors at the oncology departments in Gaza Strip, Palestine. Method: This cross sectional study was conducted among all nurses who worked at the only two hospitals offer oncology nursing care in Gaza Strip, Palestine between May to July 2020 using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Data from 52 nurses (44 had bachelor and 8 had diploma certificate) on five oncology departments in the European Gaza and Al-Rantisi hospitals revealed that the overall prevalence of missed nursing care was 39%. The most common areas of missed care reported were; providing oral hygiene for those who need (n=39, 75%), treatments and some of nursing procedures left undone because of lack of time (n=34, 65.3%), and always nurses consider cleaning of patient’s room or equipment (n=30, 57.7%). The main factors leading to missed nursing care were lack of enough nurses, no opportunity for nurses to participate in policy decisions, absent of active quality assurance program, management do not listen and response to employee concerns, and there is no a preceptor program for newly hired nurses (weighted means: 37.8%, 37.4%, 36.8%, 36%, and 35%, respectively). Conclusion: The findings of the present study demonstrated the need for more quality improvement efforts to reduce missed nursing care in the oncology departments. Considering issues such as shortage in staff number, nurses’ continuing education/training programs and involvement in policy decisions, and direct response to the career concerns could reduce the prevalence of missed care.

Missed nursing care and its associated factors in public hospitals of Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…Indeed, the study in Iran was conducted solely in the gynaecology and obstetrics unit, whereas this study included all inpatient units and all participants were nurses. The result of this study is much higher than those of other studies, such as in the USA at 36%,30 Gaza at 39%8 and Egypt at 41.1% 6. This variation may result from high patient flow, inadequate staffing and low resource accessibility in Ethiopia 14.…”

“…According to a previous study, missed nursing care is common and widespread in different countries 4–8. Evidence from previous literature indicates that nurses’ age, highest level of education, workplace characteristics, working shift, healthcare provider communication, workload intensity, satisfaction with current employment and intention to continue working in their profession are the most significant determinants of missed nursing care 4 9 10.…”

“…3 According to a previous study, missed nursing care is common and widespread in different countries. [4][5][6][7][8] Evidence from previous literature indicates that nurses' age, highest level of education, workplace characteristics, working shift, healthcare provider communication, workload intensity, satisfaction with current employment and intention to continue working in their profession are the most significant determinants of missed nursing care. 4 9 10 Other factors, including inadequate hospital resources, the working environment, nurse-patient ratios, a lack of effective communication, and their intention to remain in or leave their nursing profession or the institution, are also associated with missed nursing care.…”