PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

When care is omitted -- new research on a taboo topic

2013-11-11
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Olivia Poisson
olivia.poisson@unibas.ch
University of Basel
When care is omitted -- new research on a taboo topic Registered nurses in hospitals often lack the time for nursing care activities, such as comfort or talk with patients or educating patients and relatives. A study by the Institute of Nursing Sciences at the University of Basel shows that all European countries are affected, but variability in these and other important aspects of nursing care between and within countries was found. The results have been published in the journal "BMJ Quality & Safety".

Due to Budget constraints registered nurses are often confronted with difficult decisions: They have to decide which care activities they can offer to their patients and which to omit. Recent studies have analyzed this international phenomenon and revealed a correlation between omitted nursing care and increased patient mortality.

The Institute of Nursing Sciences at the University of Basel has for the first time conducted a study on the prevalence and nature of omitted nursing activities on general medical/surgical wards in acute care hospitals across Europe. Data analysis included responses of 33'659 nurses in 488 hospitals across twelve European countries, namely Belgium, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. These survey data were originally collected for the international RN4CAST study (Nurse forecasting in Europe), which was funded within the European Union's Seventh Framework Program.

Four out of thirteen care activities are left undone Across Europe four out of thirteen nursing activities were omitted by healthcare professionals on average. However, high between-country and within-country variability was observed. The results show a similar pattern across Europe: Psychoeducational care (for example talking with patients or the education of patients and their relatives) were more often omitted than activities, such as the documenting and planning of care, patient monitoring, the turning of patients or administering medications on time.

"Although psychoeducational care activities have always been part of the core tasks of nursing our study demonstrates that they are often left undone due to limited resources and lack of time. Nurses give them lower priority, because they are time-consuming and the required time-effort is difficult to estimate", explains Dr. René Schwendimann, head of the Swiss research group.

Negative Influence on job satisfaction Leaving nursing care undone is a taboo topic among healthcare professionals, since it potentially creates situations of moral and role conflict, which may erode job satisfaction and even increase job-related burnout. Thus, according to the authors, an open and honest discourse on this topic would be of great importance for health policy-makers and providers of health services to have.

Good management required The study also showed that nursing care activities are omitted less often in hospitals with more favorable nurse work environments irrespective of national jurisdiction. The quality of the work environment is significantly influenced by aspects, such as the leadership skills of the nursing management, the teamwork between physicians and nurses and the amount nurses carry out non-nursing duties, such as cleaning.

"By optimizing the nurse work environment, the hospital management can help nurses avoid having to leave nursing care undone", says Schwendimann. However, current financial constraints on healthcare in many European countries could lead to greater prevalence of nursing care left undone. Regular surveys among the nurses could serve as a warning system to identify deficits early in the care process.

### Original Citation Ausserhofer, D., Zander, B., Busse, R., Schubert, M., De Geest, S., Rafferty, A., Ball, J., Scott, A., Kinnunen, J., Heinen, M., Strømseng, S., Moreno-Casbas, T., Kózka, N., Lindqvist, R., Diomidous, M., Bruyneel, L., Sermeus, W., Aiken, L., Schwendimann, R., on behalf of the RN4CAST consortium Prevalence, patterns and predictors of nursing care left undone in European hospitals: Results from the multi-country cross-sectional RN4CAST study BMJ Quality & Safety (2013) | doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2013-002318


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

22 million women aged over 50 are affected by osteoporosis in the European Union

2013-11-11
22 million women aged over 50 are affected by osteoporosis in the European Union Menopause critical stage for osteoporosis risk assessment, warns International Osteoporosis Foundation A recent report issued by the International Osteoporosis Foundation ...

Levitating foam liquid under the spell of magnetic fields

2013-11-11
Levitating foam liquid under the spell of magnetic fields Foams fascinate, partly due to their short lifespan. Foams change as fluid drains out of their structure over time. It is precisely their ephemeral nature which has, until now, prevented scientists from ...

What are you scared of?

2013-11-11
What are you scared of? Different brain regions process different types of fear What do bullies and sex have in common? Based on work by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo, Italy, it seems that the same part ...

When your body needs calories, you are more inclined to help the poor

2013-11-11
When your body needs calories, you are more inclined to help the poor Imagine that you have not eaten anything for the past few hours. It is almost lunch time, and you are getting hungry. You receive an email. It is a survey asking about your political position ...

CWRU nursing school turns to alums as patient actors in novel training approach

2013-11-11
CWRU nursing school turns to alums as patient actors in novel training approach Alumni from Case Western Reserve University School of Nursing switched roles from being nurses to patients with depression and substance abuse issues. They made the change to give Case Western ...

Green poison-dart frog varies mating call to suit situation

2013-11-11
Green poison-dart frog varies mating call to suit situation Study suggests the green variety of this species trades off risk of becoming prey for better chances of securing a mate with bold calling behavior In the eyes of a female poison-dart frog, a red male isn't much ...

Changing the conversation -- polymers disrupt bacterial communication

2013-11-11
Changing the conversation -- polymers disrupt bacterial communication Artificial materials based on simple synthetic polymers can disrupt the way in which bacteria communicate with each other, a study led by scientists at The University of Nottingham ...

Discovery may lead to new treatments for allergic diseases

2013-11-11
Discovery may lead to new treatments for allergic diseases A collaboration among researchers in Israel and the United States has resulted in the discovery of a new pathway that has broad implications for treating allergic diseases – particularly ...

New research identifies why young adults return to the parental home

2013-11-11
New research identifies why young adults return to the parental home Researchers from the ESRC Centre for Population Change (CPC) at the University of Southampton have identified key 'turning-points' in young adults' lives which influence whether or not ...

Princeton study: Military children and their families remain an invisible subculture

2013-11-11
Princeton study: Military children and their families remain an invisible subculture PRINCETON, NJ—Since 9/11, the United States has seen the largest sustained deployment of military service men and women ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

AI can spot which patients need treatment to prevent vision loss in young adults

Half of people stop taking popular weight-loss drug within a year, national study finds

Links between diabetes and depression are similar across Europe, study of over-50s in 18 countries finds

Smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of its characteristics

Scientists trace origins of now extinct plant population from volcanically active Nishinoshima

AI algorithm based on routine mammogram + age can predict women’s major cardiovascular disease risk

New hurdle seen to prostate screening: primary-care docs

MSU researchers explore how virtual sports aid mental health

Working together, cells extend their senses

Cheese fungi help unlock secrets of evolution

Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking

Mental health effects of exposure to firearm violence persist long after direct exposure

Research identifies immune response that controls Oropouche infection and prevents neurological damage

University of Cincinnati, Kent State University awarded $3M by NSF to share research resources

Ancient DNA reveals deeply complex Mastodon family and repeated migrations driven by climate change

Measuring the quantum W state

Researchers find a way to use antibodies to direct T cells to kill Cytomegalovirus-infected cells

Engineers create mini microscope for real-time brain imaging

Funding for training and research in biological complexity

The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: September 12, 2025

ISSCR statement on the scientific and therapeutic value of human fetal tissue research

Novel PET tracer detects synaptic changes in spinal cord and brain after spinal cord injury

Wiley advances Knowitall Solutions with new trendfinder application for user-friendly chemometric analysis and additional enhancements to analytical workflows

Benchmark study tracks trends in dog behavior

OpenAI, DeepSeek, and Google vary widely in identifying hate speech

Research spotlight: Study identifies a surprising new treatment target for chronic limb threatening ischemia

Childhood loneliness and cognitive decline and dementia risk in middle-aged and older adults

Parental diseases of despair and suicidal events in their children

Acupuncture for chronic low back pain in older adults

Acupuncture treatment improves disabling effects of chronic low back pain in older adults

[Press-News.org] When care is omitted -- new research on a taboo topic