Patients' experience of the environmental stressors in the Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

The aim of this descriptive non-experimental study was to obtain information about the patients' experience of environmental stressors in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The ICU environment may constitute several stimuli above those to which patients are normally accustomed to. These may include noise from machinery, tracheal suctioning and staff communication, artificial lights for long periods of time, pain from external factors and tubes in the nose and/or mouth. Consequently, this study sought to understand whether sensory stimuli are stressful to patients. Interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 12 subjects who were transferred from the ICU to a general ward, to collect mainly quantitative data. The results suggest that although in the literature the ICU environment is generally described as very stressful to patients, the majority of the respondents rated the sensory stimuli addressed by the interview schedule at or below 'mildly stressful' on the Iikert scale. Being unable to sleep was, however, ranked as most stressful by the respondents. The factors perceived as mostly disturbing sleep by the respondents were 'Uncomfortable bed/pillow,' 'tracheal suctioning,' and 'staff communication.' Findings suggest that other environmental stimuli may also contribute to sleep deprivation. These results are however limited by the small sample size, the type of sample and the study design itself. It is therefore recommended that further studies be conducted in order to explore more in depth the patients' experiences of stressors in the ICU.