Factors associated with the quality of dying and death and missed nursing care.

BACKGROUND: Patients in intensive care units need full nursing care due to the high mortality rate. However, some aspects of nursing care can be forgotten.

AIMS: To investigate the quality of death and dying and its association with aspects of missed nursing care, alongside the overall perception of nurses in intensive care units about factors associated with missed nursing care.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study used a census sampling method of 105 nurses working in intensive care units. In order to collect data, the Quality of Dying and Death Questionnaire (QODD), missed nursing care (MISSCARE survey) and factors associated with missed nursing care questionnaire were used. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS 16.

FINDINGS: The quality of death and dying, as perceived by nurses, was found to be lower than the average (Range score: 0 to 100). The range of missed nursing care was average (Range of score: 24 to 96) and the most noticeable reason for this missed nursing care was the shortage of nursing staff.

CONCLUSION: Managers should ensure that nurses provide complete nursing care for terminally ill patients in intensive care units and eliminate factors that lead to aspects of nursing care being missed, such as staffing levels, material resources and communication between staff members.