Missed nursing care is linked to patient satisfaction: a cross-sectional study of US hospitals

BackgroundAs nurses are the principal care provider in the hospital setting, the completion or omission of nursing care is likely to have a sizable impact on the patient care experience. However, this relationship has not been explored empirically.AimTo describe the prevalence and patterns of missed nursing care and explore their relationship to the patient care experience.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used secondary nurse and patient survey data from 409 adult non-federal acute care US hospitals in four states. Descriptive statistics were calculated and linear regression models were conducted at the hospital level. Regression models included controls for hospital structural characteristics.ResultsIn an average hospital, nurses missed 2.7 of 12 required care activities per shift. Three-fourths (73.4%) of nurses reported missing at least one activity on their last shift. This percentage ranged from 25 to 100 across hospitals. Nurses most commonly reported not being able to comfort or talk with patients (47.6%) and plan care (38.5%). 6 out of 10 patients rated hospitals highly. This proportion ranged from 33% to 90% across hospitals. At hospitals where nurses missed more care (1 SD higher=0.74 items), 2.2% fewer patients rated the hospital highly (p