Pediatric Nurses’ Perceptions of Missed Care: A Qualitative Study

Background: Pediatric nurses are responsible for caring for children and their families; thus, investigating missed care in the pediatric ward is important and helps to improve the quality of care. Accordingly, this study aimed to explain the perceptions of pediatric nurses about missed care. Methods: This study was conducted using content analysis on 15 pediatric nurses selected by purposive sampling. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. After obtaining informed consent, interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. MAXQDA software (version 10) was used to facilitate coding and thematic analysis. Results: Four main categories emerged from the data analysis, including missed family-centered care, unsafe care, predisposing factors, and adverse outcomes. Conclusion: The findings showed that from the perspective of pediatric nurses, missed care occurs in different dimensions, including psychological support, communication, education, assessment, drug treatment, and infection control, and it can ultimately lead to mother’s dissatisfaction and bring about adverse effects on the child’s recovery besides harming the nurse.