Nurses’ perceptions of the sustainability of a standardised assessment for preventing complications in a ICU: a qualitative study

• Main Authors: Soh, Kim Lam, Davidson, Patricia M., Leslie, Gavin, DiGiacomo, Michelle, Soh, Kim Geok
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2019
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/81505/1/Nurses%E2%80%99%20perceptions%20of%20the%20sustainability%20of%20a%20standardised%20assessment%20for%20preventing%20complications%20in%20a%20ICU%20a%20qualitative%20study.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/81505/; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31403398/

Background: Quality improvement projects have been widely adopted to prevent complications in the ICU. Objective: This paper describes nurses' perceptions of implementation strategies and the potential sustainability of a practice change intervention to prevent complications in a Malaysian ICU. Design: A participatory action research using five focus group discussions were undertaken with 19 nurses in a single ICU in regional Malaysia. Focus group transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The main themes derived from the interviews were: [1] Empowering staff to embrace evidence-based practices; [2] Staff knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that impact on behaviour; and [3] management support and leadership are influential in staff behaviours (acceptance & perseverance of change process). Discussion: Resistance to change was recognized as a barrier to adopting evidence based recommendations. There is a need to improve nurses' knowledge, attitude and awareness of the importance of assessment for VAP, CRBSI and PIs in the ICU.