To explore the nurses’ behaviors regarding clinical alarms, analyze the related influencing factors, and provide rationales for alarm management.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in China. The self-made questionnaire of nurses’ clinical alarm-related knowledge, attitude, and behavior (NCAKAB) was used.
The valid response rate was 98.66% (
Nurses scored highest in alarm learning, followed by alarm response, alarm setting, alarm recognition, and alarm notification behavior. The factors that influenced alarm behavior included age, title, department, nursing stint, hospital level, professional title, alarm-related training, willingness to participate in alarm-related training, whether or not departments have improved alarm management over the last 3 years, and whether or not departments have formulated norms for alarm management. Nurses with higher scores for clinical alarm knowledge had higher correlating scores for alarm behavior; similarly, nurses with higher scores for clinical alarm attitude had higher scores for alarm-related behavior.