Examining the Problem of Alarm Fatigue: An Analysis of Intensive Care Nurse's Attitudes Related to Clinical Alarm Management

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine nurse's attitudes related to clinical alarm management.;Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study of nurses currently working in intensive care (ICU). ICU nurses were administered a Clinical Alarms Survey developed by the Healthcare Technology Foundation (HTF).;Results A total of 30 registered nurses who worked in an intensive care unit (ICU) setting responded to the survey. More than 83% of the respondents had greater than six years of experience. Strong evidence of an association between years of experience and nurse's perception about whether alarm sounds/visual displays should differentiate the priority of an alarm was established (p-value = .05). Overall attitudes noted that the majority of respondents (85%) agreed that differentiation of alarm sounds was important, and that nuisance alarms disrupt patient care. Participant responses were mixed (30% - Agreed vs. 50% - Disagree) on statements covering complexity of alarm system set-up and management and whether new technology had solved issues related to alarms. While 65% of respondents agree that the adoption of smart alarms would be reduce false alarms, only 10% of participants felt that current policies were being used effectively. Seventy percent of all participants ranked false alarms as most important concerning alarms and lack of training (57%) as least important.;Conclusions The frequency of clinically insignificant, or technically 'false' alarms continues desensitize nurses, leading to indifference to differentiate audible alarms. While technological advances in alarm design continues, prospective assessments of risks are needed help to identify priority of clinical alert importance, process failures, and needs potential for new equipment. Dissemination of new policy and revisions/updates to existing policy related to alarm management should occur regularly to increase awareness and compliance to established policy.