A Heideggerian investigation into the lived experience of humour by nurses in an intensive care unit.

A literature search revealed no systematic enquiry into the experience of humour by nurses in the intensive care setting, suggesting that there was a need for such studies (Astedt-Kurki & Liukkonen 1994). This phenomenological study was undertaken using an interpretive human science approach of phenomenology grounded in the hermeneutics of Heidegger. The task was to investigate and describe the concept of humour in an intensive care unit (ICU) from an inductive-descriptive perspective, seeking to identify the essence of the phenomenon through an accurate description of the lived experience of humour. A sample of eight nurses with at least one year's intensive care experience was randomly selected. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, audiotaped, transcribed into text, checked for transcription errors, and returned to participants for checking to ensure reliability and validity. Main core themes were identified and categorized, then Colaizzi's seven steps were used for analysis. Themes and categories identified in the collected data were rich and varied, allowing for lengthy discussions on thoughts and experiences. The study revealed a rich experience of humour in the ICU, suggesting that humour is central to nursing, and therefore worthy of deeper analysis using the same methodology.