J Korean Acad Nurs.  2022 Apr;52(2):134-143. 10.4040/jkan.21240.

Delirium Experience of the Intensive Care Unit Patients

Affiliations
  • 1Cardiac Care Unit, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Seoul, Korea
  • 2College of Nursing, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Purpose
The study aimed to understand the delirium experience of intensive care unit (ICU) patients.
Methods
We performed a qualitative study using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Eleven patients, who experienced delirium according to the Confusion Assessment Method for ICU, participated after transferring to general wards from the ICU. Individual in-depth semi-structured interviews ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours in length were conducted between November 2018 and August 2019.
Results
Nine themes and four theme clusters emerged. The four theme clusters were: 1) “Overwhelmed by fear,” which describes the experience of a patient close to death and the feeling of difficulty in understanding disorganized thinking; 2) “Anxious about not understanding the situation,” which means that patients’ sense of time and space were disordered in the ICU; 3) “Being deserted,” which indicates the feeling of being separated from others and yourself; and 4) “Resistance to protect my dignity,” which indicates that the dignity and autonomy of an individual in the patient’s position at the ICU, are ignored.
Conclusion
Nursing interventions are needed that would enable patients to maintain orientation and self-esteem in the ICU. In addition, healthcare providers need to provide information about the unfamiliar environment in the ICU in advance.

Keyword

Delirium; Intensive Care Units; Qualitative Research
Full Text Links
  • JKAN
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr