Development of nursing model to prevent unplanned extubation in pediatric patients admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

This Action Research aimed to develop a nursing model to prevent and reduce the incidence of unplanned extubation in pediatric patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The sample included 9 nurses working in the PICU and 27 pediatric patients aged from 1 month to 15 years who were intubated, selected by purposive sampling. The research was conducted in three phases: (1) preparation phase, (2) development of the nursing model, and (3) evaluation phase using implementation ability assessment, satisfaction assessment, and outcome measures. Data were collected from April to June 2025 and analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The developed nursing model comprised 8 components. Nurses showed an implementation ability of 88.90%, and satisfaction with the model was at a high level a mean score of 4.46. The incidence of unplanned extubation in pediatric patients showed a decreasing trend: 17.37 percent in 2023, 9.06 percent in 2024, 8.74 percent in the first quarter of 2025, and 0 percent in the second quarter. Therefore, the model should be applied to pediatric patients in pediatric intensive care units and expanded to other wards.