Exploring staff perceptions regarding alarm fatigue and practices among nurses: A multicentre study in the Northern Emirates

Abstract

Background

Alarm fatigue poses a significant challenge in healthcare, particularly among emergency department and intensive care unit nurses. This phenomenon can lead to delayed responses, missed critical alarms, and compromised patient outcomes. Addressing alarm fatigue is vital to maintain patient safety and optimize nursing workflows.

Purpose

To comprehensively investigate alarm fatigue among nurses, with a focus on exploring their perceptions of alarm fatigue, identifying factors contributing to alarm fatigue, and propose strategies for alarm management and enhance patient safety.

Methods

Multicentre cross-sectional, quantitative study was conducted from the three (3) Sheikh Khalifa Initiative Hospitals in the Northern Emirates. The participants involved 120 nurses from Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, and Medical Surgical Ward − Close Monitoring Beds. An online survey platform developed by the Healthcare Technology Foundation was used, and data was collected between September 2023 to November 2023. Regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of alarm fatigue among participating nurses, with potential predictors including demographic variables (age, gender), clinical characteristics (years of nursing experience), and organizational factors (e.g., hospital setting). Significance levels was set at p < 0.05.

Results

Majority of participants were aged between 25–34 years (n = 60, 50 %), female (n = 87, 72.5 %), and predominantly working in the emergency department (n = 70, 58.3 %). Regression analysis (β = 0.244, t = 2.73, p < 0.01) revealed gender as a significant predictor of alarm fatigue, with male nurses experiencing higher levels compared to females. Majority of the staff agreed and strongly agreed (n = 84, 70 %) that setting alarm parameters and alerts is overly complex in existing devices, and that alarm integration and communication systems with other wireless devices are useful for improving alarms management and responses (n = 101, 84.2 %).

Conclusions

This study provided insights into the prevalence and predictors of alarm fatigue among nurses, ultimately informing the development of targeted interventions and strategies to mitigate alarm fatigue, enhance patient safety, and improve the well-being of healthcare providers in critical care settings.