The lived experience of adults who received mechanical ventilation

Abstract

Background: Exploring the lived experience of patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) can provide valuable insights into their physical, emotional, and psychological well-being during their stay in Intensive Care unit (ICU). The quality of care provided to satisfy participants; requirements during ventilation can be improved by learning how participants interpret their experiences during mechanical ventilation. While a number of studies on this topic have been published internationally, there are no local studies that sheds a light on the MV experience. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of adult patients who had received Mechanical Ventilation. Research design: This qualitative study was based on Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) Setting: Participants were patients who had received mechanical ventilation in a general adult critical unit setting in Malta Participants: A purposive sample of seven participants who had been mechanically ventilated in ICU in Malta were recruited in this study. Method: In depth semi-structured one-to-one interviews using open ended questions were used. Interviews were conducted face to face or remotely and took approximately 1 hour. The data analysis was performed by a single researcher who read the transcripts several times and took notations as advised by Smith et al. (2022). This process required a search for connections and clustering of themes and emerging ideas that were linked, and grouped together based on conceptual similarity to give descriptive labels for each cluster. Results: Four personal experiential themes emerged. These include: ‘Delivered into the hands of others’, ‘Living in a disconnected world’, ‘Agony’ and ‘Supportive encounters’. Conclusion: Participants reported feeling alone, voiceless, powerless, without control, detached from their loved ones, and disconnected from reality while experiencing amnesia, hallucinations, and nightmares in an unfamiliar environment. Even though surviving mechanical ventilation was described as terrifying and painful, support and strength was found in family members, health care workers, religious rituals, and prayers.To reduce the intensity of MV patients' pain and discomfort, health care workers played a crucial role in supporting, and encouraging ventilated patients to endure painful situations. It is recommended that individualised care and the establishment of a post-ICU clinic after being discharged home from the hospital will be beneficial. It is suggested to conduct further research, particularly locally, to better understand the experiences of MV patients and patient- centred care. It is also advised to conduct more research on the perspective of nurses who care for MV patients. Studies on factors impacting the quality of sleep in the local context are advised.