Experiences of partners of intensive care survivors and their need for support after intensive care

Background: When a relative with a critical illness is admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), it can be a life-changing event for the partner. There is a lack of studies that focus on the partners' experiences of the time after intensive care.

Aims and objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of partners of intensive care survivors and their need for support after intensive care.

Design: A qualitative descriptive design was used.

Methods: Six semi-structured interviews was conducted in Sweden and analysed using inductive content analysis with inspiration from Graneheim and Lundman.

Results: Three categories emerged from the data: Being in chaos when a partner needs intensive care, Being the one who everyone depends on, and Life goes on after intensive care. The findings indicate that life goes on after intensive care even if recovery takes time, and during that time, the partners need comforting support from people around them.

Conclusion: Partners need extensive and continuous support from health care staff and others during and after intensive care. Intensive care leads, on the one hand, to a sense of chaos for the partner, but on the other hand, if the family relations are strengthened and the partner receives the right kind of comforting support, it can relieve the chaos and facilitate a smoother recovery path to help them view the future more positively.

Relevance to clinical practice: This study can contribute knowledge that guides nurses in the ICU and at the ICU follow-up service and could also help nurses in other areas of care in communication with relatives.