Overcoming nursing barriers to intensive care unit early mobilisation: A quality improvement project

Overcoming nursing barriers to intensive care unit early mobilisation: A quality improvement project
Hunter, Oluwatobi O. et al.
Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, Article in Press

Technological advancements in critical care have increased intensive care unit (ICU) survivorship. Survivors may experience functional impairment 5–15 years after critical illness, resulting in decreased quality of life and increased use and cost of healthcare services (Herridge et al., 2011; Yosef-Brauner et al., 2015). These long-term post-ICU physical impairments are due in part to intensive care unit acquired weakness (ICUAW). ICUAW is a syndrome of multifactorial etiology that results in impaired ventilator weaning and prolonged intensive care unit length of stay (LOS) (Desai et al., 2011; Lipshutz and Gropper, 2013).