[Interaction between intensive care patients; a comparison of different intensive care units (author's transl)]

A study was made of the extent and type of contact which patients of an intensive care unit established with each other. The information was obtained by interviewing 92 patients in 4 different types of intensive care units. In evaluating and interpreting the results special attention was paid to the possible influence of 10 patient-specific and disease-specific parameters. 81 per cent of the interviewed persons had established contact, mostly of a verbal nature, with their fellow patients. The majority appreciated the companionship and attached a positive value to the contacts made: communication with the other patients relieved the mental stress arising from their condition and detracted from their anxiety and tendency to brooding; on the other hand, they were also, to some extent, worried that too much excitement might adversely affect their condition. Encouraging talks by the medical team greatly helped towards reducing stress. Even severely ill persons who could no longer actively communicate felt happier in a multi-bed ward: they felt less isolated and more involved and therefore, psychically supported. The fact that the great majority of patients preferred multi-bed units to single rooms suggests that the former have a stabilizing effect, both physically and psychically - an aspect of intensive care that has so far been ignored.