IMPLEMENTATION OF AN EARLY ACTIVE PROGRESSIVE MOBILITY PROTOCOL IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Research shows that implementing a mobility protocol in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) reduces the incidence of ICU - acquired weakness, shortens hospital stays, increases patient mobility, and improves patient outcomes. This study is a quality improvement project investigating the impact of implementing an early progressive mobility protocol in an Intensive Care Unit in Southern California. The aims of this quality improvement project were to reduce the incidence of ICU- acquired weakness by decreasing ICU length of stay and improving patient mobility. ACE STAR Model of Knowledge Transformation was the framework used to guide the implementation of the new protocol. An Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale and nurse demographics survey, was administered pre- and post-intervention to assess the nurse’s attitudes toward adopting a new protocol and collect nurse demographics. All ICU nurses were educated on the new early progressive mobility protocol. The nurses were instructed to provide each patient with early progressive mobility each shift and document the mobility level in the electronic medical record. Intensive Care Unit length of stay and Bedside Mobility Assessment Tool scores were compared pre-and post-intervention and there was no statistically significant improvement. Post-survey, however, did find that 59% of nurses saw improvement in patient overall well-being after early progressive mobility implementation. Although there was not statistically significant improvement in this project with continued training and implementation there is room for improvement.