Nurses’ alarm fatigue, influencing factors, and its relationship with burnout in the critical care units: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundExcessive number of alarms and false and nonactionable alarms may lead to alarm fatigue. Alarm fatigue could easily contribute to burnout. Burnout may reduce nurses' sensitivity to alarms, thus affecting patients' safety due to insufficient response to the alarms. However, no study has examined nurses’ alarm fatigue in Ghana. ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to investigate the level of alarm fatigue and its associated factors, as well as determine its relationship with burnout among nurses working in the critical care units of hospitals in Ghana. MethodsThe cross-sectional study was conducted in critical care units of five hospitals in Ghana from November 2021 to January 2022. A total of 364 nurses were recruited and completed the questionnaire. Alarm fatigue was assessed by the alarm fatigue questionnaire, which was originally developed in Chinese and was translated into English using a standard protocol. Burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. ResultsThe overall alarm fatigue score was 76.43 ± 27.80 out of 124. Longer years working at the critical care unit (B = −2.50, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −4.62, −0.37) and having policies related to alarm management (B = −10.77, 95% CI: −3.50, −18.04) were associated with a decreased risk of alarm fatigue, while working in neonatal intensive care unit (B = 16.35, 95% CI: 2.48, 30.21) and postanesthesia care unit (B = 15.16; 95% CI: 0.32, 30.01), and having anxiety and stress (B = 8.15, 95% CI: 1.30, 15.00) were associated with an increased risk of alarm fatigue. In addition, alarm fatigue was positively associated with emotional exhaustion (r = 0.52, P < 0.001) and depersonalisation (r = 0.43, P < 0.001) but not personal accomplishment (r = −0.09, P = 0.100). ConclusionCritical care nurses in Ghana experienced higher levels of alarm fatigue, which is affected by multiple factors. There is a significant link between nurses' alarm fatigue and burnout. Our findings provide important guidance for future intervention programs to improve critical care nurses' alarm fatigue by introducing policies on alarm management and improving nurses’ psychological health, with a special focus on nurses with shorter working years and working in neonatal intensive care unit and postanesthesia care unit.