Purpose
Preventing missed care is important in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) due to neonates’ vulnerabilities. This study examined missed care and its influencing factors among NICU nurses.
Methods
Missed care among 120 Korean NICU nurses was measured using a cross-culturally adapted online questionnaire. The frequency of missed care for 32 nursing activities and the significance of 23 reasons for missed care were collected.
Results
All participants had missed at least 1 activity, missing on average 19.35 activities during a typical work-day. The most common missed item was “provide developmental care for the baby”. The most common reason for missed care was “emergency within the unit or deterioration of one of the assigned patients”. The final regression model explained 9.6% of variance in missed care. The average daily number of assigned patients receiving inotropes or sedation over the last month influenced the total number of missed care items.
Conclusion
Missed care was affected by nurses’ workload related to the number of patients taking medication. Frequently missed activities, especially those related to developmental care, require patience and time, conflicting with safety prioritization and inadequate working conditions. NICU nurses’ working conditions should be improved to ensure adequate time for nursing activities.

Citations

• Status Quo and Real Experience of Missed Nursing Care in ICUs: A Scoping Review
  Runfang Guo, Yiling Li, Jie Jing, Qin Yang, Hejia Wan, Wanwan Qiao
  Nursing in Critical Care.2026;[Epub]     CrossRef
• A mixed-methods systematic review of factors affecting missed nursing care in intensive care
  Huimiao Jing, Xue Bai, Weiguang Wen, Ni Yang, Jie Zhai, Yingli Gao
  Intensive and Critical Care Nursing.2026; 93: 104344.     CrossRef
• Job satisfaction, work environment, and burnout as predictors of missed nursing care in pediatric units: A descriptive cross-sectional study
  Sinem Ozmen, Havva Arslan Yurumezoglu
  Journal of Pediatric Nursing.2025; 81: e1.     CrossRef
• The effect of nursing workload and patient acuity on missed nursing care among NICU nurses in northern Jordan
  Raeda AbuAlRub, Nagham Abdullateef Mahmmoud, Heyam Fawaz Dalky, Abdullah Alkhawaldeh
  Journal of Neonatal Nursing.2025; 31(3): 101653.     CrossRef
• Missed nursing care and its causes and effects on moral distress in neonatal intensive care nurses
  Burcu Bakırlıoğlu, Bengü Çetinkaya, Rabia Nur Teki
  Nursing in Critical Care.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Missed care in neonatal intensive care unit: effect of electronic reminders
  Bahrami Fereshteh, Azizzadeh Forouzi Mansooreh, Nematollahi Monirsadat, Kalisch Beatrice, Bagherian Behnaz
  BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Nurses experiences with an intervention enhancing skill-mix in Kenyan neonatal units with severe workforce deficits: A qualitative study
  Nancy Odinga, Caroline Waithira, Justinah Maluni, Gloria Ngaiza, Vincent Kagonya, Onesmus Onyango, Abdulazeez Imam, David Gathara, Michuki Maina, Kenneth Karumba, Fred Were, Sebastian Fuller, Mike English, Edna Mutua, Sassy Molyneux, Caroline Jones, Dorot
  International Journal of Nursing Studies.2025; 171: 105202.     CrossRef
• Pediatri kliniklerinde çalışan hemşirelerin karşılayamadıkları bakım gereksinimlerinin incelenmesi
  Ayşe Zişan Olcay, Rana Yiğit
  Mersin Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi.2025; 18(2): 132.     CrossRef
• Fading connections: A phenomenological study of oncology nurses’ experiences of Missed Nursing Care during an infectious disease outbreak
  Mahsa Pourshaban, Atefeh Allahbakhshian, Hadi Hasankhani, Federica Canzan,
  PLOS One.2025; 20(11): e0336174.     CrossRef
• The relationship between resilience and missed nursing care in neonatal intensive care units: a cross-sectional study in Iran
  Fatemeh Khoshnavay Fomani, Mahdie Pasha Zanoosi, Mohammad Mehdi Rajabi
  BMC Research Notes.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Mapping the Contributing Factors to Missed Nursing Care in Hospital Settings During a Global Health Crisis: A Systematic Scoping Review
  Mahsa Pourshaban, Atefeh Allahbakhshian, Majid Purabdollah, Jacopo Fiorini
  Journal of Nursing Management.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Pediatrik ve Yenidoğan Birimlerde Karşılanmamış Hemşirelik Bakımı: Kapsamlı Bir Literatür Derleme
  Sinem Özmen, Havva Arslan Yürümezoğlu
  İzmir Katip Çelebi Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri F.2024; 9(2): 281.     CrossRef
• Title Missed Nursing Care and Its Associated Factors: An Integrative Review
  Mohammad Yeganeh, Fatemeh Salmani
  Medical-Surgical Nursing Journal.2024;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Investigating the Quality of Nursing Records and its Relationship to Missed Care by Neonatal Intensive Care Nurses
  L Hajtaghi, M Arshadi, M Rahkar Farshi
  Journal of Health and Care.2024; 25(3): 279.     CrossRef
• Evaluation of missed nursing care in neonatal intensive care units: A cross-sectional study
  Dominika Kohanová, Branislav Malý, Daniela Bartoníčková, Katarína Žiaková
  Journal of Neonatal Nursing.2023; 29(5): 791.     CrossRef
• Qualitative evaluation of missed nursing care in neonatal intensive care units in a teaching hospital in Jordan
  Rania Ali Albsoul, Muhammad Ahmed Alshyyab, Rana Yaser Albayyari, Dana Hani Alselaibi, Salsabil Awni Flefil, Laila Hussam Jardaneh, Sohayla Yaseen Fayiz Dababseh, Baraa Ayed Al Odat, Fatima Abdulsattar Alkubaisi, Majd Hussein AlKhawaldeh, Gerard FitzGeral
  Journal of Pediatric Nursing.2023; 73: e277.     CrossRef
• Exploring Missed Nursing Care in the NICU: Perspectives of NICU Nurses in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Health Cluster
  Nasreen Alsalem, Fatima Abu Rashid, Saleh Aljarudi, Mohammed I. Al Bazroun, Roqayah Mirza Almatrouk, Fatimah M. Alharbi, Lames Al Mansour, Nahid Baker Abuzaid
  Pediatric Reports.2023; 15(4): 571.     CrossRef