Effectiveness of Nurse‐Led Early Mobility Protocols on the Outcomes of Critical Care Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

ABSTRACT Aim This review evaluates the effectiveness of nurse‐led early mobility protocols on key patient outcomes, including length of ICU and hospital stay, body function, mobility, muscle strength and mortality. Design Systematic review and meta‐analysis. Methods This review was conducted, follow...

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Main Authors: Jing Xu, Shengyuan Wang, Qian Zhang, Yanfen Yao, Jing Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-05-01
Series:Nursing Open
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.70206
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author Jing Xu
Shengyuan Wang
Qian Zhang
Yanfen Yao
Jing Yu
author_facet Jing Xu
Shengyuan Wang
Qian Zhang
Yanfen Yao
Jing Yu
author_sort Jing Xu
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Aim This review evaluates the effectiveness of nurse‐led early mobility protocols on key patient outcomes, including length of ICU and hospital stay, body function, mobility, muscle strength and mortality. Design Systematic review and meta‐analysis. Methods This review was conducted, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Outcomes assessed included ICU stay, hospital stay, body function, mobility, muscle strength, and mortality. Meta‐analysis using a random‐effects model calculated pooled estimates such as weighted mean differences (WMD) and standardised mean differences (SMD) for continuous outcomes, and risk ratios (RR) for mortality. Results The pooled WMD indicated that nurse‐led early mobility protocols significantly reduced ICU stay by 1.8 days (WMD: −1.813; 95% CI: −3.072 to −0.555) and hospital stay by 2.6 days (WMD: −2.622; 95% CI: −5.122 to −0.123). No significant effects were observed for mobility (SMD: −0.245), body function (SMD: 0.223), muscle strength (SMD: 0.385) or mortality (RR: 1.117). Heterogeneity was substantial for most outcomes. Nurse‐led early mobility protocols effectively reduce ICU and hospital stay durations, suggesting their role in optimising critical care recovery. However, further high‐quality studies are needed to determine their impacts on other functional outcomes and long‐term recovery. No patient or public contribution.
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spelling doaj-art-cbbbf30e4e2a4fe0b78f423d3e2ac09d2025-08-20T03:48:20ZengWileyNursing Open2054-10582025-05-01125n/an/a10.1002/nop2.70206Effectiveness of Nurse‐Led Early Mobility Protocols on the Outcomes of Critical Care Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta‐AnalysisJing Xu0Shengyuan Wang1Qian Zhang2Yanfen Yao3Jing Yu4Department of Intensive Care Unit Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University Jinan Shandong ChinaDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine Shandong Mental Health Center Jinan Shandong ChinaDepartment of Intensive Care Unit Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University Jinan Shandong ChinaDepartment of Intensive Care Unit Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University Jinan Shandong ChinaDepartment of Intensive Care Unit Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University Jinan Shandong ChinaABSTRACT Aim This review evaluates the effectiveness of nurse‐led early mobility protocols on key patient outcomes, including length of ICU and hospital stay, body function, mobility, muscle strength and mortality. Design Systematic review and meta‐analysis. Methods This review was conducted, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Outcomes assessed included ICU stay, hospital stay, body function, mobility, muscle strength, and mortality. Meta‐analysis using a random‐effects model calculated pooled estimates such as weighted mean differences (WMD) and standardised mean differences (SMD) for continuous outcomes, and risk ratios (RR) for mortality. Results The pooled WMD indicated that nurse‐led early mobility protocols significantly reduced ICU stay by 1.8 days (WMD: −1.813; 95% CI: −3.072 to −0.555) and hospital stay by 2.6 days (WMD: −2.622; 95% CI: −5.122 to −0.123). No significant effects were observed for mobility (SMD: −0.245), body function (SMD: 0.223), muscle strength (SMD: 0.385) or mortality (RR: 1.117). Heterogeneity was substantial for most outcomes. Nurse‐led early mobility protocols effectively reduce ICU and hospital stay durations, suggesting their role in optimising critical care recovery. However, further high‐quality studies are needed to determine their impacts on other functional outcomes and long‐term recovery. No patient or public contribution.https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.70206critical careintensive care unitmeta‐analysisnurse
spellingShingle Jing Xu
Shengyuan Wang
Qian Zhang
Yanfen Yao
Jing Yu
Effectiveness of Nurse‐Led Early Mobility Protocols on the Outcomes of Critical Care Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Nursing Open
critical care
intensive care unit
meta‐analysis
nurse
title Effectiveness of Nurse‐Led Early Mobility Protocols on the Outcomes of Critical Care Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
title_full Effectiveness of Nurse‐Led Early Mobility Protocols on the Outcomes of Critical Care Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
title_fullStr Effectiveness of Nurse‐Led Early Mobility Protocols on the Outcomes of Critical Care Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Effectiveness of Nurse‐Led Early Mobility Protocols on the Outcomes of Critical Care Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
title_short Effectiveness of Nurse‐Led Early Mobility Protocols on the Outcomes of Critical Care Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
title_sort effectiveness of nurse led early mobility protocols on the outcomes of critical care patients a systematic review and meta analysis
topic critical care
intensive care unit
meta‐analysis
nurse
url https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.70206
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