Patients’ and Relatives’ Experiences of Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit—A Qualitative Study

Bibliographic Data

ID15470277
AuthorsSandra Lange (0000-0001-9728-5011, Gdańsk Medical University, corresponding author), Wioletta Mędrzycka‐Dąbrowska (0000-0001-8377-4893, Gdańsk Medical University), Adriano Friganović (0000-0002-9528-6464, University Hospital Centre Zagreb), Dorota Religa (0000-0003-4583-4570, Karolinska Institutet), Sabina Krupa (0000-0002-3002-3153, Rzeszów University)
Year2022
Volume19
Issue18
Pages11601-11601
Publication date2022-09-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph191811601
PMID36141873
OpenAlexW4296049940
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited33

(1) Introduction: Delirium is a cognitive disorder that affects up to 80% of ICU patients and has many negative consequences. The occurrence of delirium in an ICU patient also negatively affects the relatives caring for these patients. The aim of this study was to explore patients' and their families' experiences of delirium during their ICU stay. (2) Method: The study used a qualitative design based on phenomenology as a research method. A semi-structured interview method was used to achieve the aim. The responses of patients and their families were recorded and transcribed, and the data were coded and analyzed. (3) Results: Eight interviews were conducted with past ICU patients who developed delirium during hospitalization and their family members. The mean age of the participants was 71 years. Of the eight patients, 2 (25%) were female and 6 (75%) were male. The relationships of the 8 carers with the patients were wife (in 4 cases), daughter (in 2 cases), and son (in 2 cases). The average length of time a patient stayed in the ICU was 24 days. The following themes were extracted from the interviews: education, feelings before the delirium, pain, thirst, the day after, talking to the family/patient, and return home. (4) Conclusions: Post-delirium patients and their families feel that more emphasis should be placed on information about delirium. Most patients feel embarrassed and ashamed about events during a delirium episode. Patients fear the reaction of their families when delirium occurs. Patients' families are not concerned about their relatives returning home and believe that the home environment will allow them to forget the delirium events more quickly during hospitalization

Daughter · Delirium · Feeling · Intensive care unit · Psychiatry · Qualitative research · Anesthesia and Neurotoxicity Research · Family and Patient Care in Intensive Care Units · Intensive Care Unit Cognitive Disorders · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

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