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An investigation into the attitudes and practices of intensive care nurses towards verbal communication with unconscious patients
Author(s) -
BAKER C.,
MELEY V.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2702.1996.tb00248.x
Subject(s) - unconscious mind , psychology , nursing , intensive care , nonverbal communication , medicine , communication , psychoanalysis , intensive care medicine
Summary• This study attempted to investigate the attitudes and practices of intensive care nurses towards verbal communication with unconscious patients. A sample of five staff nurses working in an intensive care unit in Northern Ireland formed the basis for the study. • The research design was non‐experimental and descriptive‐exploratory in nature, incorporating 4‐hourly observational periods and structured interviews. • Qualitative and quantitative analysis indicated that intensive care nurses spend on average 5% of their time verbally communicating with unconscious patients. Most of this communication involves informing the patient of immediate procedural matters or providing reassuring statements. • Most intensive care nurses claim that verbal communication with unconscious patients is very important, and some ambiguity is apparent as to the unconscious patient's level of awareness. Major factors influencing communication are the patient's level of consciousness, the amount of physical care being given and the presence of relatives.