INVESTIGATION OF INTENSIVE CARE EXPERIENCES OF THE ELDERLY PATIENTS

WOS: 000328934700009Introduction: This is a descriptive study which has been carried out to investigate the experiences of the elderly patients in the intensive care unit. Materials and Method: This research was carried out between February and May 2010. The study sample consisted of 116 patients, over the age of 65, who were admitted to the surgery intensive care unit of a university hospital, and who were transferred to the clinic after staying at least 24 hours in the intensive care unit. In collecting the data, an information form about the socio-demographic characteristics and the Intensive Care Experience Scale were used. Results: The mean age of the patients was 71.99+/-6.42, and 61.2% of them were men. It was determined that 45.7% of the patients were ventilated and their mean duration of stay was 1.49+/-0.65 days in the intensive care unit. The mean total scale score was found to be 62.77+/-7.40 showing that elderly patients in the intensive care unit had a partially negative experience, there was a weak negative correlation (p <0.05) between the total score of the scale and the length of stay in the intensive care unit, and the type of intensive care unit significantly affected the experiences of intensive care patients (p <0.001) and recalling of the experience (p