The Effect of Monitor Alarm Management Training on the Level of Alarm Fatigue of Nurses in Intensive Care Units.

BACKGROUND

Frequent activation of monitor alarms, many of which are clinically insignificant, may contribute to alarm fatigue and reduced attentiveness among nurses.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effect of monitor alarm management training on the level of alarm fatigue of nurses in intensive care units.

METHODS

A single-group, quasi-experimental study with a pre- and post-test design was conducted in 2024 among 48 ICU nurses from 2 tertiary hospitals in southern Iran. Participants were selected systematically based on predefined criteria. The intervention included 6 weeks of educational sessions, comprising lectures, workshops, and multimedia classes, focused on alarm management for bedside monitoring equipment, ventilators, and infusion pumps. Data were gathered using a demographic questionnaire and a standardized alarm fatigue scale. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v26 and paired t-tests at the 0.05 significance level.

RESULTS

The mean age of participants was 30.89 ± 4.41 years; most were women (58.3%) and held bachelor's degrees (95.8%). Alarm fatigue scores significantly declined from 34.52 ± 10.47 to 26.64 ± 4.80 post-intervention (mean difference = 7.88, 95% CI 5.33-10.38, P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Incorporating targeted training on alarm settings can be an effective step toward reducing alarm fatigue and supporting safer, more attentive nursing practice in critical care settings. Given that a large proportion of monitor alarms-85-99%-are false or clinically insignificant, integrating this knowledge into training programs helps nurses prioritize clinically relevant alerts and enhance patient safety.