Staff-Perceived Barriers to Patient Mobilization Vary by Hospital, Discipline, and Experience: A Multisite...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare delivery
• Patient mobility
• Clinical practice

Background:

• Progressive patient mobilization is crucial for recovery.
• Identifying staff-perceived barriers is essential for improving mobilization rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe staff-perceived barriers to progressive patient mobilization.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 208 nursing, medical, and allied health staff across 10 internal medicine wards in 4 hospitals.
• The Patient Mobilization Attitudes and Beliefs Survey assessed barriers related to knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
• Barrier scores were compared based on hospital, discipline, and years of clinical experience.

Main Results:

• The primary barriers identified were nursing workload, lack of medical orders, and patient/family resistance.
• Significant differences in barrier scores were observed across hospitals, disciplines (nursing, medical, allied health), and experience levels.
• The behavior subscale indicated higher barriers compared to knowledge and attitudes across all subgroups.

Conclusions:

• Nursing workload, medical orders, and patient/family resistance are major impediments to patient mobilization.
• Discipline, experience, and hospital setting influence perceived barriers.
• Multicomponent strategies addressing culture and systems, alongside targeted education for medical staff, are needed to overcome mobilization barriers.