ASSESSING THE PREVALENCE OF ALARM FATIGUE AMONG CRITICAL CARE NURSES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Background: Alarm fatigue has become a critical patient-safety concern in intensive care environments where nurses are continuously exposed to high volumes of auditory and visual alarms. Persistent, repetitive, and often non-actionable alarms contribute to desensitization, delayed responses, cognitive overload, and burnout. Critical care nurses, who interact most frequently with monitoring equipment, are particularly vulnerable to this phenomenon. In low- and middle-income countries, including Pakistan, research on alarm fatigue remains limited despite increasing technological dependence within ICUs. Understanding its prevalence is essential for improving safety and clinical performance.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of alarm fatigue among critical care nurses working in a tertiary-care setting.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 123 critical care nurses at Hameed Latif Hospital, Lahore. Participants with at least six months of ICU experience were included through census sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of demographic variables and a validated alarm fatigue tool scoring from 0–52. Alarm fatigue was categorized as no (0–7), low (8–20), moderate (21–32), or severe (33–52). Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations, were used for analysis. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained before data collection.

Results: Most participants were female (63.4%) and young, with 48.8% aged 22–26 years. The largest proportion (61.0%) had 1–5 years of ICU experience. Alarm fatigue indicators revealed that 47.2% always readjusted alarm limits, 48.8% reacted differently to high- and low-priority alarms, and 41.5% became indifferent when alarms repeated. Additionally, 35.8% reported losing patience with continuous alarms, while 28.5% stated that heavy workload hindered timely alarm response.

Conclusion: The study demonstrated a considerable prevalence of alarm fatigue among critical care nurses, influenced by workload, experience level, and continuous alarm exposure. These findings highlight an urgent need for structured alarm-management training, technological refinement, and supportive strategies to safeguard both nurse well-being and patient safety.