Communicating with sedated ventilated patients in intensive care: focusing on the use of touch.
Communication with intensive care patients is of paramount importance, especially when communicating with a critically ill patient who is sedated and ventilated, and therefore unable to speak. Disclosure under these circumstances is extremely difficult, so in this situation touch is a valuable means of conveying messages. Consequently, touch as a way of communicating is discussed in this paper, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages. Barriers to communication in this environment are also discussed.
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Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK.
D003144:Communication Barriers; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000451:nursing*; D003422:Critical Care; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000451:nursing*; D014110:Touch