Nurses’ knowledge in the management of clinical alarms in the critical care unit of a tertiary hospital, a cross-sectional study

Background: In low and middle income countries like Kenya, nurses are overworked as the nurse to patient ratio is not as stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO). In this sense clinical alarms are important as they are able to alert the nurses in the critical care units or other areas of the hospital on the change in the patient’s condition. Nurses therefore need to be knowledgeable about alarms so as to manage patients effectively. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in the month of June 2014 where 87 nurses were recruited as study participants. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Chi square and Cramer’s V were used to calculate relationship between the variables. Results: Out of 87 respondents, 71.7% (62) were females and 27.6% (25) were males. The respondents responded to seven questions borrowed from an online Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AACR) program on continuing education and scored 69% on average. There was a statistically significant association (p=0.049) between the question on knowledge, “Wiping electrodes with a rough washcloth or gauze and or using sandpaper on the electrode prevents spurious signals and helps to remove part of the stratum corneum allowing electrical signals to travel” and years worked in the critical care unit. The nurses who had worked in CCU for more than five years scored the highest (48.5%) whilst the ones who had worked in CCU for more than ten years scored the least (23.1%). Discussion: There is a deficit in knowledge on the management of clinical alarms, effective assessment and training on management of clinical alarms is necessary. Protocols and policies on alarm management need to be developed.