Knowledge, barriers and facilitators of early mobilisation of critically ill patients among nurses and physiotherapists

Background. Early mobilisation (EM) of critically ill patients improves short-term outcomes and may improve longer-term morbidity. Despite the benefits, implementation remains poor. Objective. To investigate the knowledge of staff about and facilitators and barriers to EM among intensive care unit (...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Southern African journal of critical care 2019-07, Vol.35 (1), p.34
Main Authors: Plessis, I Du, Arnold, N, Hayden, M, Mashego, M, Masoga, R, Mkiva, C, Monamola, P, Soni, K, Lupton-Smith, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Medical care quality
Morbidity
Nurses
Physical therapists
Retirement benefits
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Summary:Background. Early mobilisation (EM) of critically ill patients improves short-term outcomes and may improve longer-term morbidity. Despite the benefits, implementation remains poor. Objective. To investigate the knowledge of staff about and facilitators and barriers to EM among intensive care unit (ICU) staff. Method. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by physiotherapists and nurses working in ICUs, over a 1-week period, at a tertiary hospital in Cape Town. Results. Twenty-six nurses and 17 physiotherapists consented to participate. Physiotherapists and nurses were knowledgeable on EM with mean (standard deviation (SD)) scores of 85% (22.65) and 74% (23.68), respectively. Both professions scored lowest in the safety knowledge domain, with mean (SD) scores of 70.68% (0.30) and 55.49% (0.24), respectively. Both physiotherapists (88.24%) and nurses (73.08%) reported lack of staff to be the greatest barrier to EM. Among the physiotherapists, 82% indicated that patients being too unwell was a barrier, and 69% of nurses indicated that patients being too sedated was a barrier. Interdisciplinary care was identified as essential by all staff for implementation of EM. Conclusion. Modifiable knowledge gaps were identified. Identification of barriers and facilitators to EM are the first steps in improving EM practice within a unit.
ISSN:1562-8264