The relationship between nurses' moral competency and missed nursing care: a descriptive-correlational study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Ethics
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Missed Nursing Care (MNC) encompasses overlooked or delayed patient care aspects, leading to adverse events like medication errors and increased mortality.
• Moral competence is essential for clinical nurses to ensure high-quality patient care and positive patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between the moral competencies of nurses and the occurrence of Missed Nursing Care (MNC).

Main Methods:

• A descriptive-correlational study was conducted with 200 nurses from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.
• Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Moral Competence of Clinical Nurses Questionnaire, and the Kalisch and Williams Missed Nursing Care (MISSCARE) survey.
• Convenience sampling was employed for participant recruitment.

Main Results:

• Nurses achieved a mean moral competence score of 151.83 ± 12.60 (over 75%) and a mean MNC score of 42.71 ± 9.38 (less than 50%).
• A significant negative correlation (r = -0.38, p < 0.001) was found between total moral competence scores and MNC.
• Higher levels of moral competence were associated with lower levels of Missed Nursing Care.

Conclusions:

• Enhancing nurses' moral competence is a viable strategy for reducing the incidence of Missed Nursing Care.
• Healthcare organizations and hospitals should prioritize initiatives that strengthen moral competency among nursing staff to improve patient safety and care quality.