Assistant Professor, Community and Mental Health Department Faculty of Nursing, Al Al-Bayt University, Mafraq, Jordan
*Corresponding Author: Mohammad Suliman PhD RN, Assistant Professor, Community and Mental Health Department, Faculty of Nursing, Al al-Bayt University, P.O. BOX 130040, Mafraq, Jordan, Email: Mbarahemah@aabu.edu.jo
Online published on 2 November, 2018.
To investigate nurses’ compliance with safety precautions in relation to patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). In addition, the study also aimed to measure the unit and hospital characteristics that determine the implementation of safety precautions for patients admitted to ICUs in Jordan.
A sample of 184 patients who were admitted to ICUs were observed using a 17-item safety checklist that measured nurses’ implementation of safety precautions such as raising the side rail, elevating the head of the bed, and applying elastic stockings.
Nurses in our study demonstrated low compliance with some ICU safety precautions such as changing patient's position every two hours (40.2%), fixing the indwelling catheter to the bed (46.2%), and applying elastic stockings for immobilized patients (1.1%). In addition, factors such as admittance to the university hospital, being in a small ICU, and in a unit with a higher nurse-patient ratio were associated with higher nurses’ compliance with ICU safety precautions.
This study demonstrated that there is some lack in applying safety precautions for patients admitted to the ICUs in Jordan. In addition, the study identified hospital and unit characteristics that are associated with higher compliance with safety precautions. Applying more educational programs and implementing more policies and maintaining more supervision are highly recommended.
Intensive care unit, patient safety, checklist
