Association between nursing workload and missed nursing care among nurses working in medical and surgical wards of DHQ Teaching Hospital, Kohat
Abstract
Background: High nurse workloads are one of the main causes of missing nursing care, which can have a negative impact on clinical results, patient safety, and care quality. There is very little information on this connection in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Objective: To ascertain whether nursing workload and missing nursing care are related among nurses employed in DHQ Teaching Hospital. Methodology: From May to July 2026, a quantitative cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study was carried out among registered nurses employed by a DHQ Teaching Hospital, Kohat. The study involved 97 nurses. Results: Missed nursing care actions were occasionally overlooked, as indicated by mean score of 3.60 ± 0.78. A moderate level of perceived workload among nurses was indicated by the overall mean workload score of 1.91 ± 0.42. Higher workload was linked to more missed nursing care, according to regression analysis, which showed a statistically significant positive correlation between workload and missed nursing care (R2 = 0.112, F = 11.925, β = 0.334, B = 0.618, P = 0.001). Conclusion: In addition to improve the quality and safety of patient care, strategies targeted at minimizing excessive workload through sufficient staffing, efficient workload distribution, and supportive management may assist in reducing missing nursing care.