Perceived Motivators and Barriers of Nursing Documentation Practice Among Ethiopian Nurses at Specialized Hospital: A Qualitative Inquiry

Background Nursing documentation is a record or chart of nursing care that is organized and provided to individual patients by nurses. Accurate, complete, and timely documentation of nursing care ensures continuity of care across shifts, supports clinical decision-making, enables effective healthcare providers' communication, and provides legal and quality-assurance records of care delivered. There is a paucity of qualitative studies in Ethiopia regarding nursing documentation practice. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to explore the barriers and motivators affecting nursing documentation practices among nurses at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital. Methods A qualitative descriptive study design was employed among 10 staff nurses who were actively involved in providing direct patient care at Hiwot Fana Comprehensive Specialized Hospital from November 10 to November 21, 2025. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit participants from different clinical wards, and data were collected using face-to-face, in-depth interviews guided by a semi-structured interview. Data were analyzed thematically using Braun and Clarke's methodology, and MAXQDA Pro v26 software was used throughout the analysis to support systematic data management, organization, and coding process. Result Three themes emerged from the analysis: "barriers to nursing documentation", "motivators for nursing documentation", and "suggested recommendations to nursing documentation improvement". Each theme also includes two sub-themes, totaling six sub-themes. Continuity of patient care, evidence of care, professional responsibility, and legal accountability were motivators for nursing documentation. Major barriers to nursing documentation were heavy workload, staff shortages, lack of training, punitive supervision, and unavailability of patient cards. Suggested improvements by nurses included improved staffing, providing training, regular supportive supervision, electronic systems, and recognition of staff with good documentation. Conclusions This study reveals a clear disconnect between nurses' professional values regarding documentation and the realities of their working environment. To address these challenges, human resource strengthening, supportive leadership, and sustainable training mechanisms are required. Clinical trial number: Not applicable