This study conducted a questionnaire survey among 157 nurses in the intensive care units of three tertiary hospitals in Jiangmen area to analyze the current situation and influencing factors of medical equipment alarm fatigue among ICU nurses.

A cross-sectional survey design was employed, selecting 157 intensive care unit (ICU) nurses from Jiangmen Central Hospital, Wuyi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Jiangmen, and Jiangmen People's Hospital as the study subjects from August 2023 to August 2024. An electronic questionnaire titled “Current Situation and Influencing Factors of ICU Nurses' Fatigue from Medical Equipment Alerts” was distributed. Based on the data collected from the returned questionnaires, the fatigue scores of ICU nurses from alarm events were calculated, the degree of alarm fatigue among ICU nurses with different professional characteristics was explored, and the independent influencing factors of alarm fatigue were analyzed.

The total score of alarm fatigue for ICU nurses was (39.8±5.4) points. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that working years, night shift rotation situation and noise perception level in the ward were the influencing factors of alarm fatigue for ICU nurses (P<0.05).

ICU nurses generally suffer from medical equipment alarm fatigue, which is mainly driven by the working environment and personal factors. Alarm fatigue not only reduces nurses' concentration at work but may also increase medical risks. It is suggested that this problem be alleviated by optimizing the alarm system, strengthening nurse training and management intervention to enhance ICU nursing safety.