By identifying contributing factors to missed nursing care, appropriate interventions can be developed and tested.

These findings suggest that regardless of country and hospital, by ensuring that units are adequately staffed and increasing job satisfaction, younger, less experienced nurses can be retained and absenteeism reduced.

The MISSCARE Survey was successfully translated from US English to Icelandic, using a stringent back-translation method. The Icelandic version tested reliable and valid. This study supports global use of the MISSCARE Survey.