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Dangling practices of 51 nurses: a pilot project
L D Lane1, E H Winslow, R J Woods
1University of Texas Southwest Medical Center, Dallas, Tex, USA.
Summary
Nurses use various strategies to help patients tolerate dangling, a common nursing intervention. Further research is needed to standardize and improve these patient care practices.
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Patient Care
- Critical Care
Background:
- Dangling is a routine nursing intervention to assess patient tolerance to positional changes.
- Limited research exists on current dangling practices and nurse methodologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the dangling practices of critical care and acute care nurses.
- To identify strategies used by nurses to promote patient tolerance during dangling.
Main Methods:
- A structured interview tool was used.
- 51 experienced critical care and acute care nurses from seven states were interviewed.
Main Results:
- Dangling is often not routinely ordered and may not require a physician's order.
- Nurses employ pre-intervention strategies (e.g., pain management) and intra-intervention techniques (e.g., deep breathing) for patient tolerance.
- Intolerance indicators include vital sign changes and patient distress; duration varies based on patient response.
Conclusions:
- Nurses have developed diverse approaches for dangling acutely ill patients.
- These practices require further description and empirical testing to enhance nursing interventions and patient outcomes.