Critical care nurses' perception of care coordination competency for management of mechanically ventilated patients

To evaluate nurses' care coordination competency for mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units (ICUs) of Saudi Arabia (SA).

ICUs are increasingly using multidisciplinary approach to provide critical care. Functionality gaps remain within these teams preventing optimum performance, including a lack of adequate care coordination in the management of mechanically ventilated (MV) patients.

A cross-sectional survey of ICU nurses working across 20 hospitals in SA.

The Nurses' Care Coordination Competency Scale (NCCCS) survey for MV patients was administered to all the nurses to assess their care coordination competence. The data were analysed using Student's t test, ANOVA and linear regression. Reporting of this research follows STROBE guidelines.

A total of 254 nurses participated in the survey. The overall NCCCS mean score was 3.94 (±0.69) out of a 5-point scale. Also, the "promoting team cohesion factor (Factor 1)" had a mean score of 3.90 (±0.77), the "understanding care coordination needs factor (Factor II)" had a mean score of 4.00 (±0.77), the "aggregating and disseminating information factor (Factor III)" had a mean score of 4.05 (±0.76), and the "devising and clearly articulating the care vision factor (Factor IV)" had a mean score of 3.78 (±0.87). The mean overall NCCCS score was 4.10 among Indians, 3.98 among Filipinos and 3.81 among Saudi nationals.

There were a high overall score and subscale scores of nurses' care coordination competence for mechanically ventilated patients, but few gaps were identified in some of the items.

The results provide information on the status and gaps in ICU nurses' care coordination competencies to address the needs of mechanically ventilated critically ill patients. The NCCCS can be utilised as an educational tool for nurses who are new to the ICU work environment.