Providing mouth care was the most frequently omitted element of nursing care identified by patients, according to a study in the American Journal of Medical Quality.
Researchers surveyed 729 inpatients in two acute-care hospitals on how often 13 elements of nursing care were omitted. Patients reported more missed nursing care in the area of basic care than communication and time to respond. Basic care elements, such as mouth care, accounted for four of the top five missed nursing care, with a communication element rounding out the top five.
Here are the five elements of nursing care patients most frequently reported as missed:
1. Mouth care — 50.3 percent
2. Ambulation — 41.3 percent
3. Getting out of bed into a chair — 38.8 percent
4. Providing information about tests and procedures — 27 percent
5. Bathing — 26.9 percent
Here are the remaining elements of nursing care with the percentage each was missed:
6. Discussing the treatment plan with patients — 26.5 percent
7. Considering the opinions of patients — 20.4 percent
8. The patient knowing who his or her assigned nurse was — 11.2 percent
9. Timely help to the bathroom — 10.9 percent
10. Fulfilling call light requests — 10.3 percent
11. Answering beeping monitors — 8.8 percent
12. Answering call lights — 8.6 percent
13. Listening to the patient — 7.8 percent
Patients who reported skin breakdown or pressure ulcers, medication errors, new infections, IVs running dry, IVs infiltrating and other problems said they experienced more missed nursing care than patients who did not have these problems. All these adverse events except for skin breakdown and pressure ulcers were associated with more reports of missed basic care.
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