The effect of nonpharmacological interventions applied by nurses to intensive care patients on the duration of delirium: a meta-analysis study

Objective: It was aimed to determine the effect level of nonpharmacological methods applied by nurses to patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit on the duration of delirium. Materials and methods: For this study, relevant studies were accessed by searching in July–October 2022. After the necessary exclusions were made, 14 studies were included in the study. The total sample size of the studies was 1123. Results: According to the results, nonpharmacological interventions applied by nurses to intensive care patients were found to reduce the duration of delirium (SMD: − 0.625, 95% CI: − 1.1040–0.210; Z = − 2.950, p = 0.003, I2 = 93.119%). The country of the study (SMD: − 0.047, p = 0.001) and the types of nonpharmacological interventions used (SMD: − 0.062, p = 0.000) influenced the effect size of modulators on the duration of delirium in ICU patients. Conclusion: Nonpharmacological interventions applied by nurses, who have significant responsibilities in the protection and promotion of health, were found to reduce the duration of delirium in intensive care patients. This study shows that nurses, one of the main components of the multidisciplinary team in intensive care, are successful when they apply nonpharmacological interventions well.