Missed nursing care and associated factors among nurses in Bahir Dar public hospitals, Bahir Dar, Northwest Ethiopia 2023: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Introduction: Missed nursing care is a serious issue in the nursing profession. It is one of the elements that decreases the overall quality of nursing care, making patients more vulnerable to negative treatment outcomes. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of missed nursing care and its associated factors among nurses in Bahir Dar public hospitals, Amhara, northwest Ethiopia, in 2023. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 369 randomly selected nurses working in Bahir Dar City public hospitals from March 16 to April 16, 2023. Data were collected through self-administered missed nursing care survey tools. A binary logistic regression model was used for statistical analysis. The statistical significance of the association between outcome variables and independent variables was declared at a P-value < 0.05 with a 95% CI. Result: The prevalence of missed nursing care in this study was 46.3% (95% CI 41.7, 50.9). Physical examination (56.4%), patient discharge planning and teaching (50.9%), emotional support for the patient and family (50.8%), monitoring input and output (50.2%), patient ambulation (48.5%), and documentation (48%) were among the frequently missed nursing care activities. The male professionals (AOR: 2.9, 95% CI: 1.8, 4.8), who did not take on job training (AOR: 2.2, 95 CI: 1.4, 3.6), worked full 24 h (AOR: 3.7, 95% CI: 2.0, 6.5), had dissatisfaction with the level of teamwork (AOR: 4.6, 95% CI: 2.8, 7.6), and had an intention to leave the nursing profession (AOR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.9), were statistically associated with missed nursing care. Conclusion: A significant proportion of nurses missed essential nursing care. Efforts should be made to enhance training, teamwork among nurses, stability, and adjust work shifts.