Associations of alarm fatigue with occupational burnout and sleep quality in ICU nurses: a cross-sectional study.
6 affiliations
- 1Student Research Committee, Department of Anesthesiology, Sirjan School of Medical Sciences, Sirjan, Iran.
- 2Department of Public Health, Sirjan School of Medical Sciences, Sirjan, Iran.
- 3Department of Health Education and Promotion, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. [email protected].
- 4Department of Nursing, Sirjan School of Medical Sciences, Sirjan, Iran.
- 5Department of Anesthesiology, School of Nursing, Larestan University of Medical Sciences, Larestan, Iran.
- 6Student Research Committee, Sirjan School of Medical Sciences, Sirjan, Iran.
Abstract
Background
Alarm fatigue is a critical concern in intensive care units (ICUs), where nurses are continuously exposed to high volumes of clinical alarms. This phenomenon has been associated with psychological strain, impaired sleep quality, and occupational burnout. Despite growing evidence, limited studies have simultaneously explored the associations among these variables in ICU nurses. This study aimed to investigate the relationships among alarm fatigue, occupational burnout, and sleep quality in ICU nurses working in hospitals in Kerman and Sirjan, Iran.Methods
A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 219 ICU nurses selected through census sampling. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Alarm Fatigue Scale (AFSS), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 22, employing independent t-test, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and multivariable linear regression analyses. A significance level of p < 0.05 was considered.Results
More than half of the nurses reported no alarm fatigue (57.5%), while 83.6% experienced poor sleep quality. Emotional exhaustion was low to moderate in most participants, depersonalization was moderate in 56.2%, and reduced personal accomplishment was reported by 96.3%. Alarm fatigue showed weak but statistically significant positive correlations with poor sleep quality (r = 0.230, p = 0.001) and occupational burnout (r = 0.166, p = 0.014). Sleep quality was also weakly but significantly correlated with occupational burnout (r = 0.175, p = 0.010). Alarm fatigue and burnout were significantly associated with gender, employment status, shift type, and general health status.Conclusions
Alarm fatigue, poor sleep quality, and occupational burnout are related occupational health concerns among ICU nurses. Higher alarm fatigue was weakly but significantly associated with poorer sleep quality and greater burnout. These findings suggest that alarm management, shift scheduling, and workforce-related factors may be relevant areas for organizational attention; however, future longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to determine whether such strategies improve sleep quality, reduce burnout, or enhance patient safety.Clinical trial number
Not applicable.
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BibTeX
@article{zeidabadinejad2026associations,
title = {{Associations of alarm fatigue with occupational burnout and sleep quality in ICU nurses: a cross-sectional study.}},
author = {Somayeh Zeidabadinejad and Reza Sadeghi and Parniya Abolghaseminejad and Iman Nosratabadi and Leyla Ahmadi Lari and Fatemeh Yousefi Baseri},
journal = {BMC nursing},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s12912-026-05165-y},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958276},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Associations of alarm fatigue with occupational burnout and sleep quality in ICU nurses: a cross-sectional study.
AU - Somayeh Zeidabadinejad
AU - Reza Sadeghi
AU - Parniya Abolghaseminejad
AU - Iman Nosratabadi
AU - Leyla Ahmadi Lari
AU - Fatemeh Yousefi Baseri
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/03
JO - BMC nursing
DO - 10.1186/s12912-026-05165-y
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958276
AB - Background Alarm fatigue is a critical concern in intensive care units (ICUs), where nurses are continuously exposed to high volumes of clinical alarms. This phenomenon has been associated with psychological strain, impaired sleep quality, and occupational burnout. Despite growing evidence, limited studies have simultaneously explored the associations among these variables in ICU nurses. This study aimed to investigate the relationships among alarm fatigue, occupational burnout, and sleep quality in ICU nurses working in hospitals in Kerman and Sirjan, Iran.Methods A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 219 ICU nurses selected through census sampling. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Alarm Fatigue Scale (AFSS), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 22, employing independent t-test, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and multivariable linear regression analyses. A significance level of p < 0.05 was considered.Results More than half of the nurses reported no alarm fatigue (57.5%), while 83.6% experienced poor sleep quality. Emotional exhaustion was low to moderate in most participants, depersonalization was moderate in 56.2%, and reduced personal accomplishment was reported by 96.3%. Alarm fatigue showed weak but statistically significant positive correlations with poor sleep quality (r = 0.230, p = 0.001) and occupational burnout (r = 0.166, p = 0.014). Sleep quality was also weakly but significantly correlated with occupational burnout (r = 0.175, p = 0.010). Alarm fatigue and burnout were significantly associated with gender, employment status, shift type, and general health status.Conclusions Alarm fatigue, poor sleep quality, and occupational burnout are related occupational health concerns among ICU nurses. Higher alarm fatigue was weakly but significantly associated with poorer sleep quality and greater burnout. These findings suggest that alarm management, shift scheduling, and workforce-related factors may be relevant areas for organizational attention; however, future longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to determine whether such strategies improve sleep quality, reduce burnout, or enhance patient safety.Clinical trial number Not applicable.
SN - 1472-6955
ER -