Determination of activity status, limitations and nursing interventions of patients in intensive care unit: An observation study

Objective: The aim of the study is to determine the activity status, restrictions, and nursing interventions of patients in the intensive care unit. Method: The study was conducted as an observational, descriptive type. It was carried out in the Anesthesia Intensive Care Units of Akdeniz University Hospital between October 2023 and March 2024, with a total of 528 observation hours. The data were collected using the "Observation Form for Individuals' Activity Status and Restrictions with Nursing Care Interventions," prepared by the researcher based on the literature. In the study, categorical variables were analyzed with frequency (n) and percentage (%), while continuous variables were analyzed with mean ± standard deviation (SD) and median (IQR 25-75) values. Results: The study determined that 46.2% of the patients could perform activities related to joint mobility, 42.9% could perform activities related to muscle strength, and 27.7% could perform activities related to daily living activities such as nutrition, personal hygiene, and excretion. The reasons creating movement restrictions in patients were related to consciousness status (54.9%) and physical environment (53.8%). The implementation rates of interventions such as assisting with arm movements for feeding (66.7%) and personal hygiene (70.6%) were nursing significantly high for patients who could perform daily living activities. However, the intervention rate for helping patients to stand up and walk a certain distance (7.8%) was quite low. It was also observed that some nursing interventions, such as adjusting the bed height, were routinely performed at a high rate. Conclusion: The study concluded that patients in intensive care have the capacity to perform activities requiring joint mobility and muscle strength, as well as daily living activities such as nutrition, hygiene, and mobilization. Nursing interventions were found to be supportive of the movement needs of these patients, although some interventions were performed as routine actions. Key words: Intensive care; activity; nursing; movement restriction; movement need