Intensivvårdssjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att vårda patienter med postoperativt delirium efter hjärtkirurgi
ABSTRACTAim. To describe intensive care nurses´ experiences of caring for patients with postoperative delirium after heart surgery.Background. Delirium is a common condition after heart surgery. Previous research has focused more on pathophysiology, incidence, etiology, prevention, detection and management, and less on how nurses caring for patients with delirium experience it.Design. A qualitative interview study.Method. Six intensive care nurses in a cardiothoracic intensive care unit were interviewed using a semi structured interview guide. Interviews where analyzed using qualitative content analysis.Results. The analyzed data resulted in a theme: desire to give good caring to patients with delirium, and three main categories: detecting delirium, caring for patients with delirium, willingness to improve care of patients with delirium. These main categories consisted of nine subcategories.Conclusion. Intensive care nurses´ goal is to provide good care even though the patient category is demanding. Despite increased awareness and transparency in the field of delirium care, it is important to highlight and address the emotions that arise as well as continuing with educational support to improve caring.Relevance to clinical practice. The intensive care nurse plays a key role in detecting, attending to and preventing postoperative delirium during patient care. The study highlights and confirms delirium as a challenge for nurses. The result can be used to raise awareness of the difficulties involved in nursing and highlight the need for improved knowledge and education in this area in order to improve nursing work environments.