Early mobilization is associated with improved health outcomes and shorter lengths of intensive care unit (ICU) stays for critically ill patients. Despite the proven benefits of early and frequent mobilization for these patients, there has been reluctance to adopt early mobility protocols.

The implementation of early mobilization protocols in the ICU is hampered by a lack of literature that highlights which patients are appropriate for these interventions, perceptions of insufficient resources, and concerns among critical care nurses about patient safety. Roberts and colleagues describe how they implemented an early mobility protocol and tested the effectiveness of a mobility platform device regarding mobility events and staff resources.

This prospective, randomized controlled trial enrolled 71 critically ill patients from a surgical and cardiac ICU and observed 238 mobility events over 4 months. A mobility protocol had been implemented for these 2 ICUs about 6 months prior to the initiation of this trial....

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