Communication needs of patients receiving mechanical ventilation: a pilot study

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Nursing Research
• Patient Communication

Background:

• Mechanical ventilation impedes verbal communication, creating dependency.
• Understanding communication needs is vital for patient well-being and care quality.
• Existing research may not fully capture the nuances of patient-nurse communication discrepancies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the communication needs of mechanically ventilated patients.
• To compare patient-perceived communication needs with nurse-perceived needs.
• To identify areas of agreement and disagreement in communication needs assessment.

Main Methods:

• Pilot study design.
• Inclusion of 27 nurse-patient comparisons.
• Assessment of communication needs across information-seeking, sharing, assistance requests, and social stimulation.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant correlation was found only for social stimulation needs.
• Nurses and patients showed significant disagreement regarding information-seeking needs.
• Discrepancies were also noted in information-sharing and requests for assistance.

Conclusions:

• Mechanical ventilation significantly impacts patient communication abilities.
• A notable gap exists between patient and nurse perceptions of communication needs.
• Further research is required to validate these findings and inform improved communication strategies.