Missed nursing care: Perception of nurses from a Portuguese oncology hospital

Abstract

Background: Delayed or unfinished care compromise patient safety. Prevention of missed nursing care (MNC) is one of today’s challenges. Objective: To identify MNC perceived by the nurses of an oncology hospital. Methodology: Qualitative descriptive study based on some assumptions of case studies. The sample consisted of 10 nurses. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews after receiving the participants’ informed consent. Results: The main category was MNC, and the subcategories were definition, impact, and typology. The participants considered that the definition of this issue has consequences for the several care agents, impacting the patient/family, the nurse, and the profession. Regarding typology, the care related to the affective/relational dimension of caring, the technical component, the interdependent activities, and the healthcare delivery support activities were reported as missed care. Conclusion: This study provided a contextual knowledge of this issue that justified the importance of understanding the reasons for the omission of these aspects of care to redesign nurses’ practices.