Alarm fatigue in nurses working in intensive care units: A multicenter study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare technology assessment
• Nursing and patient safety
• Clinical informatics

Background:

• Technological advancements in healthcare, particularly in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), enhance efficiency and safety.
• However, frequent false alarms from electromedical devices can lead to alarm fatigue in care providers.
• This desensitization increases the risk of adverse patient events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Alarm Fatigue Questionnaire.
• To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of alarm fatigue among Italian ICU nurses.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter cross-sectional survey was conducted with nurses from four major Italian hospitals.
• The Italian version of the Alarm Fatigue Questionnaire was administered to assess psychometric properties.
• Content validity (CVI-I), construct validity (exploratory factor analysis), internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), and stability (Spearman's rho) were examined.

Main Results:

• The Italian Alarm Fatigue Questionnaire demonstrated good content validity (CVI-S = 91.11%) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.71).
• The tool explained 67.18% of the overall variance, indicating robust construct validity.
• A total of 396 nurses participated, with an overall alarm fatigue score of 29 [22;30]. Notably, 42.17% reported prior experience with alarm fatigue incidents.

Conclusions:

• The Italian version of the Alarm Fatigue Questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for assessing alarm fatigue in clinical settings.
• The findings underscore the widespread nature of alarm fatigue among ICU nurses, necessitating the development of preventive intervention strategies.