Intensive Care Experiences of Patients After Surgery

INTRODUCTION: Patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit are faced with many factors that can negatively affect the intensive care experience, such as pain, noise, insomnia, and lack of privacy. The study was planned to determine the experiences of patients whose care and treatment were continued in the intensive care unit after surgery during their stay in these units.
METHODS: The study, which was planned quantitatively and descriptively, was conducted between January 2019 and October 2019 with 220 patients in the inpatient clinics of a private hospital. The data were collected by face-to-face interview method within the first 24 hours after the patients were transferred from the intensive care unit in the service rooms where they were hospitalized, using the “patient information form” and “Intensive Care Experience Scale.” Number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, and 1-way analysis of variance were used for data analysis.
RESULTS: According to the results of this study, 61.4% of the participants in the study were male, and their average age was 58.795 ± 15.503 years. The total mean score of the patients from the Intensive Care Experience Scale was 73.809 ± 5.050. It was found that the satisfaction scores of the patients were significantly different according to the age variable (P <.05). The scores of satisfaction with the care taken were found to be higher in those aged 61 and over than those aged 40 and below (P <.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: As a result of the study, the intensive care experience of patients who had previously been in intensive care and stayed in a single room was positive; however it has been found that problems such as pain, noise, and inability to sleep cause patients to feel discomfort.