Research Article
Amina Mohamed Abdel Fatah Slim
Abstract
Background: Intensive care units are construction for additional services and tools such as patient call systems, monitors, suction pumps, and mechanical ventilators. These tools are prepared with an alarm system in their sets. Excessive number of alarms cause alarm fatigue among critical care nurses, which can result in alarms desensitization and impaired recognition of worsening patient conditions. Critical care nurses are accountable for constant checking and maintenance of alarm nursing management protocol associated with critically ill patients. Recent studies reported that the most of nurses did not recognize how to check alarm fatigue. Aim: To appraise the effect of alarm fatigue nursing management protocol on critical care nurses' Experience. Method: A quasi-experimental design was utilized during the current study and it was conducted on 60 nurses who had more than two years of working experience in the ICUs and are elaborate in providing direct care in the ICUs in the Emergency Hospital at Mansoura University. Results: Revealed that significant improvement (p<0.001) of perception scores among studied nurses of all perception items about alarm fatigue post protocol implementation compared with their pretest score. Also, There were statistically significant variances between nurses' perception and practices in relation to alarm fatigue nursing management indicating good perception and satisfactory practice 95% following protocol implementation, compared with poor perception and unsatisfactory practice 100% pre- protocol implementation. Conclusion: Alarm fatigue nursing management protocol could be applied in our ICU settings. Continuous education and training for critical care nurses on monitoring systems and alarm setting in critical care units, decreasing response time to false alarms, assisting in progress patient's outcomes and avert alarm fatigue. Recommendation: More research should be undertaken on alarm fatigue management where all the nurses, doctors and biomedical personnel should be included.