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Patients' and family members' perceptions of transfer from intensive care
1University of Manitoba, School of Nursing, Winnipeg, Canada.
Objective:
To describe patients' and family members' perceptions of transfer from an intensive care unit (ICU).
Design:
Qualitative component of a descriptive, cross-sectional survey.
Setting:
Two university-affiliated tertiary care centres in western Canada.
Participants:
Fifty-three patients and 35 family members who had been transferred from a medical ICU within the previous 48 hours.
Measures:
Content analysis of responses to 3 open-ended questions relating to transfer from the ICU.
Results:
Patients and family members had 3 major responses of transfer from the ICU: positive, neutral or ambivalent, and negative. Although some patients and family members perceived the transfer from the ICU as a sign of progress, many individuals expressed concern about the sudden and dramatic change in the level of care after transfer.
Conclusion:
Patients and family members perceived the transfer from the ICU as a significant and sometimes negative event.