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Sameer A Alkubati,1 Salman Hamdan Alsaqri,1 Gamil G Alrubaiee,2 Mokhtar Abdu Almoliky,1 Talal Ali Hussein Alqalah,1 Eddieson Pasay-An,3 Awatif Mansoor Alrasheeday,4 Shimmaa Mohamed Elsayed5 1Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Community Health, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia; 3Fundamental of Nursing Department, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia; 4Nursing Administration Department, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia; 5Critical Care and Emergency Nursing Department, Damanhour University, Damanhour, EgyptCorrespondence: Sameer A Alkubati, Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia, Tel +966506575284, Email alkubatisa@yahoo.comBackground: A continuous and high frequency of alarms from monitoring and treatment devices can lead to nurses’ sensory exhaustion and alarm fatigue in critical care settings.Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of alarm fatigue and determine the relationship between nurses’ sociodemographic and work-related factors and the level of alarm fatigue in critical care settings in Hail City, Saudi Arabia.Methods: Between May and July 2023, 298 nurses who worked in the emergency, intensive care, and critical care units of all the public hospitals in Hail City participated in a cross-sectional survey. Sociodemographic and work-related sheet and the Nurses’ Alarm Fatigue Questionnaire were used to collect data.Results: The total mean score of alarm fatigue was 26.38± 8.30 out of 44. The highest score was observed for the item “I pay more attention to the alarms in certain”, while the lowest score were observed for the items “I turn off the alarms at the beginning of every shift” with mean scores of 2.51 and 1.61, respectively. Nurses who were males, older than 30 years and Saudi citizens had significantly higher mean scores of alarm fatigue than their counterparts. In addition, significantly higher mean scores of alarm fatigue were noticed for nurses experienced for 10 years or more and who had regular morning shifts. Multiple linear regression showed that male (p=0.014), age (p=0.012), and Saudi nationality (p < 0.029) were the independent factors affecting the level of fatigue alarm among nurses.Conclusion: Nurses working in critical care settings at hospitals in Hail city are exposed to average levels of alarm fatigue, which can be influenced by sex, age, nationality, and experience of nurses. Therefore, it is imperative to manage alarm fatigue in critical care units by considering work-related and personality-related factors to ensure patient safety.Keywords: alarms, fatigue, nurses, intensive care units, emergency

Introduction: Frequent and long-term exposure to clinical alarms can cause emergency nurses to lose their trust in alarms, delay their response, and even disable or mute these alarms., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess emergency nurses' knowledge, perceptions, and practices toward clinical alarm fatigue and investigate the perceived obstacles they face when managing clinical alarms., Results: Less than half of emergency nurses were unfamiliar with the term "alarm fatigue" (40.8%), lacked knowledge of the causes of alarm fatigue (42.3%), and were unaware of how to prevent alarm fatigue (45.7%). Emergency nurses' knowledge of clinical alarms was found to have a significant negative correlation with their perceived obstacles to the management of these alarms (r = -6.855; P < .001) and a significant positive correlation with their practice in the management of clinical alarms (r = 2.576; P = .010). In contrast, perceived obstacles to the effective management of clinical alarms were found to have a significant positive correlation with emergency nurses' negative perception of clinical alarms (r = 12.449; P < .001). A significant negative correlation was observed between emergency nurses' negative perception of clinical alarms and their practice in the management of these alarms (r = -2.697; P = .007)., Discussion: Clinical alarms represent an additional burden for emergency nurses where a substantial proportion of nurses have limited familiarity with alarm fatigue, lack knowledge about its causes and prevention strategies, and do not customize patient alarm parameters throughout their shifts., (Copyright © 2024 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: This study assessed the self-care practices among hypertensive patients at the primary health centers in Unaizah city, Saudi Arabia., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023, at all primary healthcare centers in Unaizah city. A total of 372 hypertensive patients, aged 18 and older, who had been on follow-up care for at least 6 months were randomly selected using a cluster sampling method. Data regarding socio-demographics, health history, and hypertensive self-care practices (H-SCALE) were collected using a validated questionnaire., Results: The mean age of the participants was 41.4 ± 9.6 years. Of them, 34.1% were males and 65.9% were females. Only 14.0% were smokers, 55.9% had hypertension for less than 1 year, and 53.8% did not monitor their blood pressure. None of them was addicted to any substance or using alcohol. The most commonly associated chronic disease among the participants was hyperlipidemia (61.3%), followed by diabetes mellitus. The participants were most likely reported engaging in weight management-related self-care activities, followed by healthy diet activities, and medication adherence. The H-SCALE scores increased as the frequency of engagement in self-care activities increased. There were significant differences in H-SCALE scores based on age, gender, education level, and employment status., Conclusion: Engaging in self-care activities is associated with better self-care behavior. Age, gender, education level, and employment status are significant predictors of hypertension self-care behaviors. Healthcare providers should educate hypertensive patients on blood pressure monitoring and integrated management of hypertension and other chronic diseases., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Siam, Aldakeel, Alrasheeday, Alsaqri, Alshammari and Alshammari.)

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the specific learning needs of patients within the experimental group after receiving the Individualized Self-Care Program (ISCP) at two key time points: Time 2 (Day 2, Week 1) and Time 3 (Day 15, Week 3). Furthermore, it aimed to compare the effectiveness of the ISCP in improving self-care behavior between the experimental group and the control group, which received standard health education., Methods: The study utilized a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) design and included a consecutive sample of 128 patients who had undergone their first CABG procedure. These patients were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group (n = 64) and the control group (n = 64). The experimental group received an ISCP at Time 2 and Time 3 after being discharged, whereas the control group received standard health education. Statistical analyses included paired t-tests to assess differences in learning needs over time and Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to evaluate the effectiveness of the ISCP on self-care behavior., Results: A paired t-test indicated a statistically significant difference in the total number of learning needs identified within the experimental group between Time 2 and Time 3 assessments. Patients in the experimental group initially identified more learning needs at Time 2 (4.3±1.5), but their knowledge significantly improved at Time 3, leading to fewer learning needs (2.6±1.1). Furthermore, an ANOVA comparing the experimental and control groups showed that the ISCP effectively improved self-care behavior in the experimental group, with significantly greater improvements compared to the control group, which received standard health education., Conclusion: ISCP delivered in early recovery enhances self-care behaviors and addresses postdischarge gaps. The study also revealed that patients' learning needs change over time during home recovery, emphasizing the importance of tailored self-care programs for CABG patients after discharge., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Anxiety and depression among critical care nurses (CCNs) negatively affect performance because of association with clinical medical errors, ineffective communication, absenteeism from work, and burnout., Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression and their associated factors as well as their impact on the CCNs' performance in Hail city, Saudi Arabia., Methods: A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted among 262 CCNs from April to June 2023., Results: The mean scores of anxiety and depression were significantly higher among male and Saudi CCNs than among their counterparts (p < 0.05). CCNs caring for patients in a ratio of 1:5 or more had significantly higher anxiety scores than those with lower nurse-to-patient ratios (p = 0.004). CCNs who were working night shifts had significantly higher mean scores of anxiety (p = 0.005) and lower mean scores of performance (p = 0.041) than their counterparts. Borderline anxiety and depression were prevalent among 43.1% and 38.5% of CCNs, respectively. In contrast, abnormal anxiety and depression were prevalent among 8.8% and 5.7% of CCNs, respectively. CCNs' mental, general, and total performance showed a significant negative correlation with both anxiety ([r = -0.247, p <0.001], [r = -0.183, p = 0.003], and [r = -0.172, p = 0.005], respectively) and depression (r = -0.287, p <0.001), (r = -0.207, p <0.001), and (r = -0.180, p = 0.003), respectively., Conclusions: Anxiety and depression levels are significantly higher among male, Saudi CCNs, higher nurse-to-patient ratios, those who work night shifts than among their counterparts. Less than half of CCNs experience borderline anxiety and/or depression that had significantly negative correlation with their performance. Anxiety and depression in shift nurses may be treated by reducing workload, causes of stress during night shifts, and giving practical coping mechanisms for typical nurse job pressures., (Copyright © 2024 Australian College of Critical Care Nurses Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)