[Person-Centered Relational Care Experienced by Critical Care Nurses: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Qualitative Research
• Healthcare Studies

Background:

• Critical care environments present unique challenges to establishing person-centered relational care.
• The human-to-human relationship model provides a theoretical framework for understanding nurse-patient interactions.
• Understanding nurses' lived experiences is crucial for improving care quality in intensive care units.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore nurses' experiences of person-centered relational care in critical care settings.
• To investigate how nurses form human-to-human relationships with patients in intensive care units.
• To examine the influence of the technological environment on relational care in critical care.

Main Methods:

• Interpretative phenomenological analysis of in-depth interviews with 11 experienced intensive care unit nurses.
• Utilized Travelbee's human-to-human relationship model to guide interview question development.
• Focused on nurses with over two years of experience in intensive care units.

Main Results:

• Four super-ordinate themes emerged: encountering the person through monitoring, deep empathic connection, humanistic/compassionate care, and accompanying end-of-life journeys.
• Nurses experienced 'balancing emotions' and 'authenticity' in human-to-human relationships with dying patients.
• Person-centered relational care in intensive care units involves empathy, compassion, and trust, aligning with Travelbee's theory.

Conclusions:

• Interpretative findings deepen the understanding of Travelbee's human-to-human relationship model in critical care.
• Technological environments do not impede experienced nurses' ability to form human-to-human relationships.
• Emphasizing these relational themes in nursing education and management can enhance critical care nursing quality.