Perception of nursing care in an intensive care unit

Abstract

Introduction: In everyday life people must deal with pain and physical, mental or spiritual suffering from illness on one or more occasions.

Objective: to describe the patients’ perspective on the nursing care received during the time spent in an ICU of a social security institution.

Methodology: Qualitative study done on patients hospitalized in the ICU (intensive care unit), at the Hospital General de Zona No. 50 of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, San Luis Potosí. We used a socio demographic document, a semi-structured interview and a field diary. The analysis of the information was qualitative and thematic.

Results: 4 dimensions were identified, 1) Meaning of the ICU, 2) Experience of patient treatment by nurses, 3) Perception of state of health and 4) Perception of the nursing care received.

Conclusions: the patients perceived the ICU as a frightening, unsafe, and undesirable place, from which decisive aspects emerged, such as the nursing care provided and the level of trust and safety inspired, making the difference between a positive and negative experience. Given these results, the expectations are: a) nursing staff fostering understanding of the health-sickness process in the critical patient, b) reaffirming the moral value of nursing, with regards to the protection, improvement and preservation of human dignity, and c) favoring a humanized nursing care, understanding that the effects of sicknesses and suffering are part of a human experience.