Nurses' Knowledge, Barriers and Practices in the Assessment of Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit

Nurses' Knowledge, Barriers and Practices in the Assessment of Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit

Delirium in intensive care patients is a complication associated with many adverse consequences. It negatively affects patient outcomes, is an independent predictor of mortality, prolongs intensive care unit (ICU) stay and causes cognitive impairment. It is estimated that delirium affects up to 80% of ICU patients. Unfortunately, delirium still remains undiagnosed in many cases. Due to the high prevalence of this complication in critically ill patients, it is important to implement an effective management protocol to prevent delirium.

Nurses' knowledge of delirium, learning about nursing practices and identifying barriers to delirium assessment, may be an important basis for early recognition and the creation of procedures for delirium prevention in the intensive care unit.

The survey questionnaire is aimed at nurses working in the intensive care unit.

First, respondents are asked to answer questions on socio-demographic data. Then, two questionnaires were used to conduct the study:

1. The Nurses' Knowledge of Delirium questionnaire.

   The questionnaire consists of two parts:

   • The first part deals with questions related to the definition of delirium and the tools used to detect specific conditions.
   • In the second part, participants are asked to answer questions about delirium and its associated risk factors by ticking respectively "agree", "disagree" or "not sure" to a series of 28 statements.

   Fourteen of these statements relate to delirium, its symptoms and management, and 14 relate to risk factors for delirium.

2. Nursing Practices and Perceptions Towards Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit questionnaire.

The questionnaire consists of two parts:

• The first part consists of questions about sedation and delirium assessment.
• The second part deals with practices/opinions about delirium and its assessment, including identification of potential barriers to delirium assessment

Consents were obtained from the authors for the use of both research tools. Completion of the questionnaire is voluntary, anonymous and equivalent to giving informed consent to participate in the study.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Nurses,
• ICU staff.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Other medical staff,
• children's ICU staff,
• nurses working in other departments.