Review Article

Effectiveness, Safety, and Barriers to Early Mobilization in the Intensive Care Unit

Table 10

Barriers to early mobilization.

Author (year)Reported barriers

Anekwe et al. [81] (2017)Perceived patient level barriers
(i) Medical instability
(ii) Risk of dislodgement
(iii) Excessive sedation
(iv) Endotracheal intubation
(v) Cognitive impairment
(vi) Inadequate analgesia
Perceived institutional level barriers
(i) Orders required
(ii) Lack of equipment
Perceived provider level barriers
(i) Limited staff
(ii) Communication among providers
(iii) Inadequate training
(iv) Not a priority
(v) Safety concerns

Costa et al. [82] (2017)Patient related
(i) Lack of patient’s cooperation
(ii) Patient’s instability and safety concerns
(iii) Patient status issues (fatigue, diarrhea, leaking wound, weight size, confusion, agitation, and death)
Clinician related
(i) Lack of awareness and knowledge about the protocol
(ii) Lack of conceptual agreement with guidelines
(iii) Lack of self-efficacy and confidence in protocol implementation
(iv) Staff and patient safety concerns
(v) The perception that rest equals healing
(vi) Reluctance to follow protocol (due to previous adverse outcomes)
(vii) Lack of confidence
(viii) Perceived workload
(ix) Safety of tubes, wires, and catheters
Protocol related
(i) Unavailability of protocol
(ii) Unclear protocol criteria
(iii) Protocol development cost (money and time)
(iv) Learning curve (possibility for the clinician to test guideline and observe other clinicians using the guideline easily)
(v) Lack of clarity as to who is responsible, steps needed to take, and expected standards for protocol implementation
(vi) Lack of confidence in evidence supporting protocol and guideline developer
(vii) Lack of confidence in the reliability of screening tools
ICU contextual barriers culture
(i) Interprofessional team care coordination, communication, and collaboration barriers
(ii) Lack of leadership/management
(iii) Interprofessional clinician staffing, workload, and time
(iv) Physical environment, equipment, and resources
(v) Staff turnover
(vi) Low prioritization and perceived importance
(vii) Scheduling conflicts (i- + -e, patient off, at dialysis, and procedure)