The Relationship between Missed Nursing Care, Work Environment Conditions and Patient Safety Culture

Abstract

Background: The rate of missed care depends on several factors which can affect the quality of care and treatment.Aim: The present study was conducted with aim to investigate the relationship between missed care, work environment and patient safety culture.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 380 nurses working in the teaching hospitals affiliated to Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz, Iran. Sampling was done through a stratified random sampling method from Jan 2019 to Jul 2020. The data collection tools included a demographic data form, the Missed Nursing Care Questionnaire, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nurse Work Index, and the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 25) and one way ANOVA, Pearson correlation and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Three most prevalent missed nursing care were overall patient assessment in each shift (96.1%), administering the drugs up to 30 minutes before or after the scheduled time (94.7%), and measuring the vital signs as ordered (94.1%). The mean scores of missed care were significantly higher among nurses with lower ages (p<0.0001) and less work experience (p<0.0001). A significant inverse correlation was found between missed care and the overall score of patient safety culture (r= -0.22, p<0.0001). Also, a significant correlation was found between missed care and the overall score of the work environment index (r=0.285, p<0.0001).Implications for Practice: Nursing managers can reduce the rate of missed nursing care by improving the working conditions of nurses and educating them about patient safety.

Keywords

• environment
• missed care
• nursing care
• patient safety