Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38710648›Full record

ArticleNursing in critical care2025

Nudging intensive care unit personnel towards sustainable behaviour.

Sophie Van Der Zee, Tamarah Verhoog, Theo Post, Pilar Garcia-Gomez, Erik M van Raaij, Jan-Carel Diehl, Nicole Hunfeld

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nursing in critical care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Environmental sustainability evidence in critical care medicine: a scoping review.Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Sophie Van Der ZeeErasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-3457-5916
Tamarah VerhoogErasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Theo PostErasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Pilar Garcia-GomezErasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-5634-4609
Erik M van RaaijRotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Jan-Carel DiehlFaculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-4007-2282
Nicole HunfeldDepartment of Intensive Care and Pharmacy, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe health care sector is among the most carbon-intensive sectors, contributing to societal problems like climate change. Previous research demonstrated that especially the use of personal protective equipment (e.g., aprons) in critical care contributes to this problem. To reduce personal protective equipment waste, new sustainable policies are needed. Policies are only effective if people comply.

aimOur aim is to examine whether compliance with sustainable policies in critical care can be increased through behavioural influencing. Specifically, we examined the effectiveness of two sets of nudges (i.e., a Prime + Visual prompt nudge and a Social norm nudge) on decreasing apron usage in an intensive care unit (ICU). STUDY

designWe conducted a field experiment with a pre- and post-intervention measurement. Upon the introduction of the new sustainable policy, apron usage data were collected for 9 days before (132 observations) and 9 days after (114 observations) the nudge interventions were implemented.

resultsNeither the Prime + Visual prompt nudge, nor the Social norm nudge decreased apron usage.

conclusionsWhile previous studies have found that primes, visual nudges and social norm nudges can increase sustainable behaviour, we did not find evidence for this in our ICU field experiment. Future research is needed to determine whether this null finding reflects reality, or whether it was due to methodological decisions and limitations of the presented experiment. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The presented study highlights the importance of studying behavioural interventions that were previously proven successful in the lab and in other field contexts, in the complex setting of critical care. Results previously found in other contexts may not generalize directly to a critical care context. The unique characteristics of the critical care context also pose methodological challenges that may have affected the outcomes of this experiment.

Indexed as

Intensive Care UnitsPersonal Protective EquipmentAdultFemaleHumansMaleSocial Normsbehavioural changecritical carenudgingpersonal protective clothingsustainability

Identifiers

PMID38710648
PMCPMC11783344

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.