A Global Overview of Missed Nursing Care During Care of In-Patients with Cancer: A Scoping Review

Background/Objective: This review explored the literature on Missed Nursing Care (MNC) in inpatient oncology settings to gain insights on how to enhance the quality of nursing care for hospitalized patients with cancer and survivors. The aim was to identify the common MNC and the factors associated with MNC in inpatient oncology units. Methods: A scoping review approach was used, in which a five-stage methodological framework informed the process. Five databases were searched for relevant studies (EMBASE, Medline, SCOPUS, CINAHL, and PsycINFO) published from January 2013 to June 2025. Other search methods were conducted using Google Scholar, Trove, and ProQuest Dissertations for records focusing on the topic. The review included qualitative and quantitative articles. Thomas and Harden's three-step method for thematic synthesis was followed to summarize data into themes. Results: Fifteen studies were selected and included in the scoping review. Three themes were generated: the commonly MNC; reasons for MNC; and factors associated with MNC. The common categories of MNC were related to basic patient care, documentation, and communication with patients or family members. The common factors associated with MNC were job satisfaction, patient load, and staffing adequacy. Conclusions: MNC is common in inpatient oncology settings and presents a key challenge to the safety of cancer patients and their health outcomes. Efforts to curtail MNC, such as integration of evidence-based policies, clinical guidelines, and standards in oncology nursing care, are needed. Interventional studies are needed to provide insight into effective remedies to the factors that fuel MNC, such as staffing, work overload, communication, work environment, and nurses' skills. Studies from pediatric oncology settings, Africa, and other resource-limited settings where the future global burden of cancer will be highest are also needed.