Surviving ICU: Stories of recovery

Abstract

The novel biographical methods provided a safe and creative way to reveal survivors' inner thoughts and feelings. Participants' considered creating their stories supported their recovery process and in particular enabled them to reflect on their progress. Findings from this study may lead to increased awareness among health care providers about problems survivors face and improved support services more broadly, based on frameworks appropriate for this population.

Rehabilitation After Critical Illness in People With COVID-19 Infection

“…In one sense, this juncture may represent a turning point in care and recovery, where the greatest risk is perceived as having passed. 45 On the other hand, the patient may still be considered infective, requiring ongoing isolation, and disease reactivation has been observed in COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital. 1 Patients are also likely to be considerably impaired after prolonged sedation, immobilization, mechanical ventilation, and delirium.…”

Longing for homelikeness: A hermeneutic phenomenological analysis of patients' lived experiences in recovery from COVID‐19‐associated intensive care unit acquired weakness

“…The importance of human contact and the presence of significant others have also been described previously (Alexandersen et al, 2019 ; Fredriksen & Svensson, 2010 ; Karlsson et al, 2012 ; Lykkegaard & Delmar, 2015 ; Mylén et al, 2016 ; Tingsvik et al, 2018 ). The last decade has seen a growing body of qualitative literature regarding ICU recovery (Abdalrahim & Zeilani, 2014 ; Ågård et al, 2012 ; Apitzsch et al, 2021 ; Calkins et al, 2021 ; Corner et al, 2019 ; Deacon, 2012 ; Ewens et al, 2018 ; Jensen et al, 2017 ; Kang & Jeong, 2018 ; Kean et al, 2017 ; Maley et al, 2016 ; Nelderup et al, 2018 ; Palesjö et al, 2015 ; Thurston et al, 2020 ; Umberger & Thomas, 2019 ; Vogel et al, 2021 ). It is not surprising that our findings show overlap with these studies, such as ‘dealing with setbacks’ (Vogel et al, 2021 ), ‘learning to live in a changed body’ (Palesjö et al, 2015 ) or ‘regaining a mental balance’ (Nelderup et al, 2018 ).…”

The expressed support needs of families of adults who have survived critical illness: A thematic synthesis

“…In many cases, these family needs paralleled survivors' needs as identified by King et al (2019), but some differences were found. Key similarities included the need for closeness throughout the recovery continuum and for psychological support although, for families, this was related to seeking support for the survivor above themselves (Azoulay et al, 2017;Choi et al, 2018;Ewens, Hendricks and Sundin, 2018). Both survivors and families had insecurity after discharge home but families also had this need during preparation, linked to feeling overwhelmed and unprepared for perceived responsibility for the survivor at home (Paul, Fiona and Rattray, 2008;Choi et al, 2018;King et al, 2019).…”