In the care for the critically ill patient the next of kin is of great importance. Their support, love and care for the patient, increases the wellbeing and makes a connection to the patient?s normal lifeworld. For the next of kin to be able to be that support the next of kin needs to be helped to maintain the basic need of for example their sleep, food, hygiene and psychosocial support. The critical care nurse must see to the patient?s whole lifeworld which includes their next of kin.The aim of the study was to identify the resources available for the next of kin in intensive care units in Sweden.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe intensive care nurses? experiences communicating with patients during mechanical ventilation.Methods/design: A qualitative interview study. Interviews where analyzed using descriptive content analysisSetting: Nine intensive care nurses from two different intensive care units were interviewed using a semi structured interview guide.Background: Past research has shown that patients during mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit, feel very vulnerable and the helplessness of being unable to speak. These patients feels that they are completely dependent on the nurses and their competence. It has been shown to be very important that the patient feels included, acknowledged and respected.Results: The analyzed data resulted in a theme; through communication strive to preserve patients´ dignity and three main categories; create relationship to the patient, minimize patients´ vulnerability and don´t give up.

En intensivvårdssjuksköterska kommer i sin yrkesutövning ofta att möta närstående till svårt sjuka patienter. Tidigare studier har påvisat närståendes betydelse inom intensivvården och hur komplicerat samspelet med närstående kan vara, under de speciella omständigheter som råder på en intensivvårdsavdelning. Syftet med denna studie var att belysa intensivvårdssjuksköterskans erfarenheter av aspekter som bidrar till att främja ett gott samspel med patientens närstående. En kvalitativ ansats har använts i studien. Datainsamling utfördes via halvstrukturerade intervjuer, styrda av en intervjuguide.

Background:When the patient is critically ill the family is in a vulnerable position. The nurse's role is to support and help the family to find meaning in the difficult situation and to provide realistic hope. Balancing between the patient's and the family's needs is difficult. Knowledge about how nurses experience difficulties in the interaction with family is required in order to grant good care too critically ill patients and their family-members.Aim:To describe nurses' perceived difficulties in the interaction with family-members of critically ill patients.Method:The study is a qualitative literature-based study based on qualitative research. Results: The analysis resulted in four main themes; difficult disunion, environmental constraints, interpersonal difficulties and communicative difficulties.

Early extubation of cardiac surgery patients has become increasingly important. The assessment of the patient before an early extubation is crucial and the intensive care nurses (ICU nurses) in this estimation is there for very important.The aim of this study was to examine critical care nurses' knowledge of early extubation, and what view ICU nurse has about factors that affect the time to extubation of cardiac surgery patients.A quantitative approach with descriptive and comparative design was used. Selection was all ICU nurses at a thoracic intensive care unit who were clinically active in patient care.The study showed that ICU nurses had good knowledge of why an early extubation was essential. However, the knowledge about the unit?s extubation criteria was low.

Background:When the patient is critically ill the family is in a vulnerable position. The nurse's role is to support and help the family to find meaning in the difficult situation and to provide realistic hope. Balancing between the patient's and the family's needs is difficult. Knowledge about how nurses experience difficulties in the interaction with family is required in order to grant good care too critically ill patients and their family-members.Aim:To describe nurses' perceived difficulties in the interaction with family-members of critically ill patients.Method:The study is a qualitative literature-based study based on qualitative research. Results: The analysis resulted in four main themes; difficult disunion, environmental constraints, interpersonal difficulties and communicative difficulties.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe intensive care nurses? experiences communicating with patients during mechanical ventilation.Methods/design: A qualitative interview study. Interviews where analyzed using descriptive content analysisSetting: Nine intensive care nurses from two different intensive care units were interviewed using a semi structured interview guide.Background: Past research has shown that patients during mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit, feel very vulnerable and the helplessness of being unable to speak. These patients feels that they are completely dependent on the nurses and their competence. It has been shown to be very important that the patient feels included, acknowledged and respected.Results: The analyzed data resulted in a theme; through communication strive to preserve patients´ dignity and three main categories; create relationship to the patient, minimize patients´ vulnerability and don´t give up.

Patients in intensive care are often intubated, and therefore unable to speak, which leads to difficulties in communication. The ICU is a very stressful environment and can be experienced as foreign and frightening by both patients and their close ones. The ICU nurse?s caring responsibilities includes both the care of the critically ill patient and the support of relatives who are often in shock. This balance is not always straightforward, and acting professionally in both instances can lead to problems.

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a special unit for patients who is in the need for emergency life-sustaining measures and every patient has complex medical- technical equipment. The experiences of a critical illness and the needs of critical care are experienced in different ways. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences from patients in the ICU and how this experience has an influence on the patients. The method was a study of literature with a qualitative inception based on eight scientific articles and the analysis of content has been inspired by Graneheim and Lundman (2003). The result of the study is presented by four categories: to loose the ability to make themselves understood, to be forced to adjust to the environment of caring, to have the lack of connection with reality and to be in an intensive care environment, The results showed that patients in the ICU are affected by the attitude from the staff, the equipment around them as well as the sounds and lights in the environment there.

The aim of this descriptive literature study was to describe the patients? experience of the need for social support and the choice of coping strategies during treatment for eating disorders. Further, the authors wanted to describe the relationship with the parents and also to highlight the caring relationship between nurse and patient. Results that came to light, concerning the patients? experience, were that patients with eating disorders, in a majority of studies, indicated a deficient social network.

The health care system in most western countries is undergoing rapid changes with an increasing amount of people living with chronic cancer. These people have to deal with their disease in every day life together with working and family life. The relationship between health services and every day life has changed and raises new requirements. Earlier research has shown that maintaining every day life is important for cancer patients and their families. This study comprised patients with lymphoma receiving their diagnosis during 2003 ? 2005.

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a special unit for patients who is in the need for emergency life-sustaining measures and every patient has complex medical- technical equipment. The experiences of a critical illness and the needs of critical care are experienced in different ways. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences from patients in the ICU and how this experience has an influence on the patients. The method was a study of literature with a qualitative inception based on eight scientific articles and the analysis of content has been inspired by Graneheim and Lundman (2003). The result of the study is presented by four categories: to loose the ability to make themselves understood, to be forced to adjust to the environment of caring, to have the lack of connection with reality and to be in an intensive care environment, The results showed that patients in the ICU are affected by the attitude from the staff, the equipment around them as well as the sounds and lights in the environment there.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore nurses' experiences of informing relatives to critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).MethodThe study was descriptive with a qualitative approach. Nine nurses were interviewed. The study took place in a university hospital in the midst of Sweden. An interview guide was used, designed in consensus with the study questions. Data was analyzed via qualitative content analysis.FindingsMeeting and preparing relatives at the arrival at the ICU seemed valuable and led to safety and participation among relatives.

Introduction: Today caring for newborn, sick babies or premature infants is in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). There is an opportunity in NICUs for advanced critical care and skilled nursing care of the child, conducted by health professionals in an active partnership with parents. To encourage parental participation in the care of their children parents are offered accommodation in a family room in the NICU. Objective: The aim is to describe parents' experience to stay in a family room in the NICU when their child is cared for there. Method: This is a research plan for a qualitative study with an inductive, descriptive approach.

Today patients are more aware of their rights regarding their own care. They are more informed, more engaged and have more and individual requirements, which leads to increased demands for information and participation increases. The Health Act sets out the patients´ right to participation. Participation increases patient satisfaction with care, promotes healing and increases adherence to health care advise. The patient doesn´t always experience participation in their own care to the extent they wish, which suggests that nurse?s does not always succeed in getting the patient involved.