Individualized Nursing Care and Its Predictors in Intensive Care Units: A Polish Perspective

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Critical Care
• Patient Individuality

Background:

• Individualized care is recommended in critical care settings globally.
• Implementation of individualized care varies, with some areas not yet adopting it.
• Understanding factors influencing nurses' support for patient individuality is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess how critical care nurses evaluate and support patient individuality.
• To identify predictors influencing nurses' perceptions and support of patient individuality.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study design.
• Online survey using the ICN-Nurse questionnaire administered to Polish critical care nurses.
• Data analysis included factor analysis, descriptive statistics, and linear model building.

Main Results:

• Nurses' perceptions of supporting and maintaining patient individuality were moderate.
• Fewer years of experience, higher care quality evaluations, and greater job satisfaction predicted higher scores.
• Identified work organization and nurse characteristics influencing individualized care utilization.

Conclusions:

• Work organization and nurse characteristics significantly impact the implementation of individualized care in critical settings.
• Nurses should reflect on their practices and address barriers to supporting patient individuality.
• Further research can explore strategies to enhance individualized care delivery in critical care.