title: Patient empowerment in intensive care--an interview study.
abstract: Intensive care patients often experience a lack of control, as well as inner chaos. Experiences from intensive care can continue to affect patients for a long time. Empowerment is a positive and dynamic process that focuses on people's strengths, rights and abilities. It takes on different expressions for different people in different environments and must be described by the people involved. The aim of this study was to describe patient empowerment in an intensive care situation. The study was based on open-ended interviews with 11 patients in two intensive care units. The interviews were analysed according to the empirical phenomenological psychological method. The results showed that patient empowerment in intensive care consists of strengthening and stimulating the patients' own inherent joy of life and will to fight. A positive environment that encouraged feelings of value and motivation and in which the patient felt safe, received additional care and participated as he/she wished had a positive influence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Planning and Development, Administration Office, Kalmar Hospital, Sweden. ingridwa@ltkalmar.se
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wåhlin
authors.forename: Anna-Christina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ek
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Idvall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003422:Critical Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006766:Hospitals, County; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D028701:Patient Rights; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011209:Power, Psychological; D036301:Qualitative Research; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden