Anna Schandl1, Ann-Charlotte Falk2, Catharina Frank3. 1. General Intensive Care Unit, Department of Perioperative Medicine and Intensive Care, Karolinska University Hospital Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden. 2. General Intensive Care Unit, Department of Perioperative Medicine and Intensive Care, Karolinska University Hospital Solna, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden; Division of Nursing, Department of Neurobiology, Care Science and Society, Karolinska Institutet, 141 52 Stockholm, Sweden. 3. Division of Nursing, Department of Neurobiology, Care Science and Society, Karolinska Institutet, 141 52 Stockholm, Sweden; School of Health and Caring Sciences, Linnaeus University, SE-351 95 Växjö, Sweden. Electronic address: Catharina.frank@lnu.se.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Patient participation in healthcare is important for optimizing treatment outcomes and for ensuring satisfaction with care. The purpose of the study wasto explore critical care nurses' perceptions of patient participation for critically ill patients. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: Qualitative data were collected in four separate focus group interviews with 17 nurses from two hospitals. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. FINDINGS: Initially, the nurses stated that patient participation in the intensive care unit (ICU) was dependent on the patient's health condition and consciousness. However, during the interviews three descriptive categories emerged from their experience, that is: passive patient participation, one-way communication and nurse/patient interaction. CONCLUSION: In the ICU, the possibilities for patient participation in nursing care are not only dependent on the patient's health condition but also on the nurse's ability to include patients in various care actions despite physical and/or mental limitations. When the patient is not able to participate, nurses strive to achieve participation through relatives' knowledge and/or other external sources of information.
OBJECTIVE:Patient participation in healthcare is important for optimizing treatment outcomes and for ensuring satisfaction with care. The purpose of the study wasto explore critical care nurses' perceptions of patient participation for critically illpatients. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: Qualitative data were collected in four separate focus group interviews with 17 nurses from two hospitals. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. FINDINGS: Initially, the nurses stated that patient participation in the intensive care unit (ICU) was dependent on the patient's health condition and consciousness. However, during the interviews three descriptive categories emerged from their experience, that is: passive patient participation, one-way communication and nurse/patient interaction. CONCLUSION: In the ICU, the possibilities for patient participation in nursing care are not only dependent on the patient's health condition but also on the nurse's ability to include patients in various care actions despite physical and/or mental limitations. When the patient is not able to participate, nurses strive to achieve participation through relatives' knowledge and/or other external sources of information.