Å ivareta barn på generell intensivavdeling – intensivsykepleieres erfaringer

Abstract

Background: Intensive care nurses in general intensive care units must care for patients of all ages. Most Norwegian hospitals do not have a dedicated paediatric intensive care unit. Thus, acutely and critically ill children are cared for in the general intensive care unit, where there is a majority of adult patients. The children are in a particularly vulnerable situation. Their diagnoses and illnesses often differ from those of critically ill adult patients.

Objective: To acquire insight into the perceptions and experiences of intensive care nurses when caring for acutely and critically ill children admitted to the general intensive care unit.

Method: We used a qualitative, exploratory design. Two qualitative focus group interviews were conducted with altogether ten intensive care nurses employed in the general intensive care unit. A phenomenological hermeneutic research method was adopted. We analysed the data material using Graneheim and Lundman’s qualitative content analysis.

Results: The analysis identified three themes: good preparation leads to safe treatment, cooperation in the child’s best interests, and relating to children according to their development stage. Each theme is illustrated by three to five categories.

Conclusion: The study shows that the intensive care nurses generally felt positive about caring for children in the general intensive care unit, even though they had experienced feelings of insecurity and unease. Measures such as good training, good cooperation and fulfilling the child’s needs had enhanced their experiences.