Chalese Adams and Karen Whitt, College of Nursing
Alarm fatigue in the hospital setting is a dangerous phenomenon. The very alarms that are designed to alert hospital staff are tuned out or ignored. The purpose of my research was to find literature on the topic of alarm fatigue, in the clinical setting, and nurse’s experiences with alarm safety.
Methodology
To begin this research, I met with my faculty mentor Karen Whitt. We discussed ways to begin gathering information. We decided the most efficient and thorough way to begin the process would be to consult the College of Nursing Librarian to compile an extensive internet search for relevant articles. Upon the initial search 158 articles were retrieved. I then began going through each article highlighting similar words or phrases and searching for nursing related outcomes. As I went through the articles, I organized them into three different tables. One table comprised of articles I knew to be relevant to our research. The second table comprised of articles that were not applicable. The third table comprised of articles I was not sure of their applicability, I would later consult Dr. Whitt about these articles. Potential journals to submit my final paper to were retrieved at this point in the research process. While analyzing research articles, I kept track of the journals that published the relevant articles. This systematic process allowed me to find the journals that most frequently published articles on this important topic.
Results
After going through all of the articles I was surprised at the minimal amount of reliable and valid research previously done on the topic. Out of the 158 articles in the initial search, 12 articles were relevant to nursing care and alarm fatigue. After further research, we found more articles to support the research Karen Whitt would be continuing. The research done in the articles was still not complete or extensive. We could not draw any specific conclusions about the extent of alarm fatigue, its effect on nursing care, or how to improve patient outcomes. Further research done by Dr. Whitt will provide a bridge between past research and how to improve the outcomes related to alarm safety.
Discussion
Extensive conclusions could not be drawn from the current research. Alarm fatigue is under analyzed. Further research conducted by Dr. Whitt and research assistants is slowly beginning to take place. IRB’s have been obtained within the past two months from St. Mark’s hospital and surveys have been distributed. I have not yet been able to formally compile my research findings into a systematic review; however, organization and analysis of the data and information has been completed. The need for further research on this topic is ever more apparent as classmate’s experiences in the clinical setting have proven there are life threatening dangers when there is inattention to alarms.
Conclusion
Alarm fatigue in the clinical setting needs to be further researched. Dr. Whitt is currently gathering information for a larger study on this topic. This research has increased my understanding of the importance of alarms. While in nursing school, it is easy to get used to hearing the constant beeping and buzzing in the clinical setting. Not only is this a dangerous outcome, but it causes a false sense of security in those students who are soon going to be the primary caregiver of patients. Research has been done to see there is a disconnect in alarm safety. However, improving alarm safety and awareness can help decrease the number of adverse events in the clinical setting.