Sequential Mediation Effects of Organizational Support and Collaboration on Missed Nursing Care

Background: It is necessary to find ways to mediate the relationship between role overload and missed nursing care in settings where nursing staffing is inadequate. This study aimed to identify the single and multiple sequential mediation effects of organizational support, nurse-physician collaboration, and nurse-nurse collaboration on the relationship between role overload and missed nursing care. Methods: Data were collected from 237 registered Korean nurses working in general wards in October 2022. The measures used were the modified role overload scale, nurse-physician collaboration scale, nurse-nurse collaboration scale, a short version of the Perceived Organizational Support Scale, and the modified Missed Nursing Care Scale. Data were analyzed using PROCESS macro in SPSS. A hypothesis test was performed using Model 81, proposed by Hayes, which includes serial multiple mediators. Results: Organizational support, nurse-physician collaboration, and nurse-nurse collaboration showed a mediation effect on missed nursing care. Organizational support, nurse-physician collaboration, and nurse-nurse collaboration showed significant multiple sequential mediation effects on the relationship between role overload and missed nursing care. When the indirect effect sizes of nurse-physician collaboration were compared with those of nurse-nurse collaboration in both single and multiple sequential mediation paths, the indirect effect of nurse-physician collaboration was greater than that of nurse-nurse collaboration on the relationship between role overload and missed nursing care. Conclusions: As an alternative strategy to reduce missed nursing care in situations with insufficient nursing staffing, organizational support should precede nurse-physician and nurse-nurse collaboration. In particular, improving nurse-physician collaboration shows promise in mitigating missed nursing care.