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Nursing care left undone, practice environment and perceived quality of care in small rural hospitals
Smith, Sarah Lapkin, Sam Sim, Jenny Halcomb, Elizabeth
Smith, Sarah
Lapkin, Sam
Sim, Jenny
Halcomb, Elizabeth
Abstract
Aim
To examine nursing care left undone and its relationship with the nursing practice environment and perceived quality of nursing care in small Australian rural hospitals.
Background
Nurses in small rural hospitals often work with few resources, limited backup and staff shortages. The relationship between this rural practice environment and care left undone has not been fully explored.
Method
A descriptive cross-sectional survey.
Results
Over half participants (n = 241, 62.9%) reported having left some activities undone on their most recent shift. There were moderately significant correlations between care left undone and nursing practice environment and overall quality of care. Nurses who reported leaving care left undone had statistically significant lower perceptions of the nursing practice environment than those who had no care left undone.
Conclusion
Nursing care activities are being left undone in rural hospitals. Both care left undone and quality of nursing care may be affected by the nursing practice environment.
Implications for Nursing Management
To maximize care quality, rural hospital managers must consider the prevalence of care left undone and may use this information as a predictor of both patient outcomes and staffing and resource requirements. Given the challenges of rural hospitals, rural nurse managers can use this evidence to support their requests for increased staffing and resources.
Keywords
care left undone, hospital, missed care, nurse, nursing practice environment, rural
Date
2020
Type
Journal article
Journal
Journal of Nursing Management
Book
Volume
28
Issue
8
Page Range
2166-2173
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as green open access
License
File Access
Open
Controlled
Controlled
Notes
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.