Supporting Decision-Making About Patient Mobility in the Intensive Care Unit Nurse Work Environment: Work Domain Analysis.
Anna Krupp, Linsey Steege, John Lee and 2 others
PMID 36166282WHAT IT FOUND
ICU nurses said mobility decisions compete with patient safety, nurse safety, competence, and unit throughput.
They said they needed one place showing vital signs over time, past mobility progress, staffing, and equipment availability. These are nurse-reported themes, not patient outcomes.
Key findings
01Nurses described four priorities that shaped mobility decisions: patient outcomes, nurse safety, nurse competence, and unit throughput.
02Nurses described judging patient stability over shifts and searching multiple places for past mobility progress.
03Nurses described needing staff and equipment, including physical therapists and walkers, and comparing current assessments, monitor values, and prior values to decide mobility.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was done in only two adult medical-surgical ICUs that already had mobility programs, so it may not apply to ICUs without mobility programs, specialty ICUs, community ICUs, or different patient populations. It describes nurses' perceptions and work-environment constraints, not patient outcomes, and no mobility intervention or computer tool was tested. Patients, families, physical therapists, and other team members were not interviewed, so the analysis reflects the nurse side of mobility coordination. Both sites were academic US hospitals with established safe patient handling and mobility programs and recognition for high-quality nursing care, which may differ from other units.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that a clearer mobility plan, a computer display showing vital signs over time, or any computer tool improves ICU mobility or patient outcomes. The study interviewed 20 nurses in two ICUs and produced themes about the work environment, not a tested intervention.