alarmZen1: Design and Validation of a German Language Questionnaire for Measuring Alarm Fatigue in Intensive Care Units
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
False-positive and non-actionable alarms can lead to staff desensitization ("alarm fatigue") and thus patient endangerment. With this study the investigators create a basic tool to survey alarm fatigue of intensive care staff: the first German language alarm fatigue questionnaire.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
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Detailed Description
In intensive care units (ICUs), patients' vital signs are monitored automatically. As soon as one of the parameters indicates a critical or potentially critical condition, an alarm is triggered on the ward. However, if there are too many alarms, even most of which are false or require no treatment, ward staff may develop alarm fatigue and become desensitized to alarms. This puts patients at risk, especially by overhearing critical alarms. Overburdening staff with alarms is part of everyday life in most ICUs. Considering the demographic development as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is to be expected that the number of intensive care patients and thus also the alarm burden in intensive care units will increase. This will also be exacerbated by the increasing digitization of the ICU. Evidence-based and data-driven alarm management enables clinicians to trust alarms again. With this study the investigators create a basic tool to survey alarm fatigue of intensive care staff: the first German language alarm fatigue questionnaire. The questionnaire will be collected in two phases. With the data from the first phase (N ≈ 300), the investigators aim to uncover any structure that may be latent in the questionnaire data (by exploratory factor analysis) and reduce the number of questions from 27 to ~15. The reduced questionnaire will be collected in the second phase (N ≈ 300 - 400). With the data obtained, the investigators intend to test the structure postulated in the first survey in a confirmatory factor analysis.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| EFA_1st_phase Exploratory factor analysis group. All staff members (physicians, specialist nurses, respiratory therapists) of Charite intensive care units |
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| CFA_2nd_phase Confirmatory factor analysis group. All staff members (physicians, specialist nurses, respiratory therapists) of collaborating intensive care units. |
Other: Reduces number of question items
The number of alarm fatigue questions are reduced to about 15 in the CFA_2nd_phase group.
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Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Rate of alarm fatigue [6 months]
Develop an online alarm fatigue survey questionnaire to be completed across campuses and hospitals by ICU staff.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
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physicians of German intensive care units
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specialist nurses of German intensive care units
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respiratory therapists of German intensive care units
Exclusion Criteria:
- Refusal to participate
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charite Universtitaetsmedizin | Berlin | Germany | 10117 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- Charite University, Berlin, Germany
- Vivantes Klinikum im Friedrichshain, Klinik für Anästhesie, Intensivmedizin, Notfallmedizin und Schmerztherapie, Landsberger Allee 49, 10249 Berlin
- Universitätsklinikum Gießen, UKGM GmbH, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Rudolf-Buchheim Str. 7, 35392 Gießen
- Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Im Neuenheimer Feld 420, 69120 Heidelberg
- Universitätsklinikum Ulm, Klinik für Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, 89081 Ulm
- Technische Universität München, Klinik für Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin, Klinikum rechts der Isar Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675 München
- Marien Hospital Herne, Universitätsklinikum der Ruhr-Universität Bochum Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Hölkeskampring 40, 44625 Herne
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Felix Balzer, Prof. Dr. Dr., Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- alarmZen1