Study: Missed nursing care leads to poor infant outcomes

On nursing units where nurses miss more required care, very low birthweight infants have greater odds of acquiring a bloodstream infection and staying longer in the hospital. Published in Medical Care Research and Review, the study found one-quarter of nurses across 190 hospitals reported having missed a clinical requirement on the prior shift. Nurses with higher workloads, higher acuity assignments or in poor work environments were more likely to miss care, according to prior research. “The combined evidence sends a clear picture to hospital administrators and neonatal intensive care unit managers to remedy insufficient staffing and unsupportive work environments,” said lead author Eileen Lake, PhD, RN, a professor of nursing and gerontology and associate director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania. (University of Pennsylvania news release, 1/24/23)