SCOPING REVIEW
A Scoping Review of Fatigue Among Nurses in Critical Care Units
Reyhaneh Abbaszadeh,
Fazlollah Ahmadi,
Mitra Khoobi,
Anoshirvan Kazemnejad,
Mojtaba Vaismoradi,
Reyhaneh Abbaszadeh
Nursing Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Department of Emergency & Critical Care Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Fazlollah Ahmadi
Nursing Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence:
Fazlollah Ahmadi ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorMitra Khoobi
Nursing Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorAnoshirvan Kazemnejad
Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMojtaba Vaismoradi
Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, Bodø, Norway
Faculty of Science and Health, Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorReyhaneh Abbaszadeh,
Fazlollah Ahmadi,
Mitra Khoobi,
Anoshirvan Kazemnejad,
Mojtaba Vaismoradi,
Reyhaneh Abbaszadeh
Nursing Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Department of Emergency & Critical Care Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Fazlollah Ahmadi
Nursing Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence:
Fazlollah Ahmadi ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorMitra Khoobi
Nursing Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorAnoshirvan Kazemnejad
Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Search for more papers by this authorMojtaba Vaismoradi
Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, Bodø, Norway
Faculty of Science and Health, Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 10 July 2025
Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.
ABSTRACT
Background
Critical care nurses are susceptible to fatigue, which can negatively influence their performance and the safety of patients and organisations.
Aim
To identify the available evidence on the dimensions, antecedents and consequences of fatigue in nurses working in critical care units.
Study Design
This scoping review followed Arksey and O'Malley's 5-step approach for its design and implementation. Electronic databases were searched including PubMed (including Medline), Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Inclusion criteria were studies published between 2015 and 2024 as a 10-year time frame, nurses working in the cardiac care unit, intensive care unit and haemodialysis departments for adults, paediatric and neonates, published in peer-reviewed journals in English and Farsi.
Results
Forty-five studies were included. The review findings revealed that critical care nurses experienced the dimensions of compassion, alarm, physical, mental, emotional, acute and chronic fatigue. The antecedents of fatigue were personal and demographic characteristics, professional and organisational issues and physical and psychological issues. Also, its consequences included individual, patient safety and organisational characteristics.
Conclusion
A multidimensional approach is required to mitigate adverse outcomes such as diminished care quality, compromised patient safety, nurse burnout and potential harm to both patients and the healthcare organisation.
Relevance to Clinical Practice
Critical care nurses experience fatigue across multiple dimensions, highlighting the complex and varied nature of fatigue in critical care units. Additionally, the experience of fatigue is influenced by different antecedents leading to multiple consequences for nurses, patients and organisations.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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