Research on missed nursing care during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A scoping review

• Published in: Worldviews on evidence-based nursing Vol. 20; no. 6; pp. 559 - 573
• Main Authors: Zabaleta‐Del‐Olmo, Edurne, Santesmases‐Masana, Rosalía, Martín‐Payo, Rubén, Romero‐Collado, Àngel, Zamora‐Sánchez, Juan‐José, Urpí‐Fernández, Ana‐María, Gonzalez‐Del‐Rio, Marina, Lumillo‐Gutiérrez, Iris, Sastre‐Rus, Meritxell, Jodar‐Fernández, Lina, Hernández‐Martínez‐Esparza, Elvira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-12-2023
• Subjects: COVID-19; Evidence-based medicine; Medical errors; missed nursing care; Nursing care; Pandemics; patient care; patient safety; quality of health care; scoping review; unfinished nursing care; COVID-19; patient safety; quality of health care; unfinished nursing care; missed nursing care; patient care; research; scoping review
• ISSN: 1545-102X; 1741-6787
• DOI: 10.1111/wvn.12682

Background
Missed nursing care is defined as care that is delayed, partially completed, or not completed at all. The scenario created by the COVID‐19 pandemic may have influenced multifactorial determinants related to the care environment, nursing processes, internal processes, and decision‐making processes, increasing missed nursing care.
Aim
This scoping review aimed to establish the quantity and type of research undertaken on missed nursing care during the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Methods
This review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. We searched CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, two national and regional databases, two dissertations and theses databases, a gray literature database, two study registers, and a search engine from November 1, 2019, to March 23, 2023. We included quantitative, qualitative, and mixed studies carried out in all healthcare settings that examined missed nursing care during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Language restrictions were not applied. Two independent reviewers conducted study selection and data extraction. Disagreements between the reviewers were resolved through discussion or with an additional reviewer.
Results
We included 25 studies with different designs, the most common being acute care cross‐sectional survey designs. Studies focused on determining the frequency and reasons for missed nursing care and its influence on nurses and organizational outcomes.
Linking Evidence to Action
Missed nursing care studies during the COVID‐19 pandemic were essentially nurses‐based prevalence surveys. There is an urgent need to advance the design and development of longitudinal and intervention studies, as well as to broaden the focus of research beyond acute care. Further research is needed to determine the impact of missed nursing care on nursing‐sensitive outcomes and from the patient's perspective.