Assessing the Link Between Alarm Fatigue, Stress, and Perceived Performance Among Critical Care Nurses in Egypt

Alarm fatigue and psychological stress, such as anxiety and depression, are very common among critical care nurses and may be a contributing factor to impair their perceived performance in intensive care units.

This study aimed to determine the levels of alarm fatigue, anxiety, depression, and perceived performance among critical care nurses and to analyze the correlation between them.

A cross-sectional descriptive correlational study was conducted among 200 critical care nurses working in 11 intensive care units across five public hospitals in Damanhur city, Egypt, between August and November 2023. Data were collected using the Alarm Fatigue Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Nursing Performance Instrument Questionnaire, and a demographic sheet.

The mean score of critical care nurses' perceived performance was 24.45 ± 7.44 out of 54, which falls within the low-performance category. About 29.5% of critical care nurses had experienced a high score of anxiety; less than half of them (47.5%) had experienced a high score of depression. The mean anxiety and depression scores were positively and significantly correlated with the mean score of alarm fatigue (r = .333, p = .001; r = .630, p < .001, respectively). In addition, the mean scores of alarm fatigue (r = -.536, p < .001) and psychological stress of anxiety (r = -.311, p < .001) and depression (r = -.312, p < .001) were negative and significantly correlated with critical care nurses' performance.

Critical care nurses in intensive care units experience high levels of alarm fatigue, anxiety, and depression, which are negatively associated with their perceived performance. Addressing alarm management and providing psychological support for critical care nurses may help improve working conditions in intensive care settings.