RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus brought Intensive Care Units (ICUs) back to their past when they were closed to family members. The difficulties of family caregivers encountered after the ICU discharge might have been increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, no traces of their experience have been documented to date. The objective of this study is to explore the everyday life experience of relatives in the first three months after a non-COVID-19 ICU discharge. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted in 2020-2021. Two Italian general non-COVID-19 ICUs were approached. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted three months after the ICU discharge. The study has been conducted according to the COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research principles. RESULTS: A total of 14 family members were interviewed. Participants were mostly females (n = 11; 78.6%), with an average age of 53.9 years. After three months of care of their beloved at home, relatives' experience is summarised in three themes: "Being shaken following the ICU discharge", as experiencing negative and positive feelings; "Returning to our life that is no longer the same", as realising that nothing can be as before; and "Feeling powerless due to the COVID-19 pandemic", given the missed care from community services and the restrictions imposed. CONCLUSIONS: Relatives seem to have experienced a bilateral restriction of opportunities - at the hospital without any engagement in care activities and their limited possibility to visit the ICU, and at home in terms of formal and informal care.
Asunto(s)
Familia , Unidades de Cuidados Intensivos , Alta del Paciente , COVID-19/epidemiología , Cuidados Críticos/psicología , Familia/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Pandemias , Investigación CualitativaRESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: It is recognised that the night shift is a difficult one but only scarce data are available on what happens during the night. AIM: The aim of this paper is to describe the reasons of patients' calls during the nights and the number of problems that require the intervention of the doctor on night duty. METHODS: Data were collected by a non participant observer, in 4 general medical wards during a convenience sample of 12 nights. For each call, a form was completed reporting hour, patients characteristics and reasons for call. RESULTS: During the nights 483 calls were observed; on average 40.2 for each night and 4 for each of the 115 patients who made a call. On average each nurse did answer 18 calls. The 40.4% (205/483) occurred between 21.00 and 23.59 hours; 18.6% had more than one reason (on average 1.2 reasons for each call). The doctor on duty was called for the 3.1% of calls. DISCUSSION: The night duty can be very intensive. Situations nurses have to deal with and workload need to be explored to increase patients (and nurses) safety.