<jats:sec><jats:title>Background/Aims</jats:title><jats:p> One-third of patients develop delirium following admission to an intensive care unit. Intensive care unit delirium is associated with poor patient outcomes, including long-term disability and high mortality. Early mobilisation contributes towards the prevention and reduction of intensive care unit delirium. However, the implementation of early mobilisation is infrequent. The aim of this protocol is to explore participants' experiences of the barriers to, and facilitators of, early mobilisation in the adult intensive care unit specific to people experiencing delirium. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p> Three moderators will carry out up to six focus groups including up to five participants in each group. Focus group discussions will be used to explore the experiences of patients, carers and family members using Microsoft Teams. Participants will be recruited from the charity ICUsteps using a purposive sampling technique. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p> Discussions will be audio-recorded and simultaneously transcribed verbatim using the otter.ai programme. Member check approval will be sought to ensure accuracy of data. Framework analysis using a thematic methodology will identify themes in the data. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p> It is anticipated that the findings of this study will contribute towards further understanding the implementation of early mobilisation in order to improve measures for prevention and management of delirium in the adult intensive care unit. </jats:p></jats:sec>