After discharge home: a qualitative analysis of older ICU patients' experiences and care needs

Most patients in intensive care units suffer from critical diseases/injuries and are in need of life-saving medical treatment. Recovery after such diseases/injuries may be lengthy and may vary. Little is known about older patients' own assessment of recovery following intensive care. The aim of this study was to explore and describe older patients' experiences of recovery and need of care within 2 months following discharge from hospital after being cared for in an intensive care unit. Fifteen patients 65 years or older, who had received care in an intensive care unit, were telephone-interviewed 2 months following discharge. The interview texts were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Six themes were identified: 'Discharge -a matter of physicians' and nurses' decisions', 'Wanted to go home', 'Feeling well and feeling better, but...', 'Recovered or not, that is the question', 'In need of help from others' and 'In need of care'. Patients trusted in the medical experts' assessment of their condition as regarded hospital discharge, but they also stated that they wanted to go home, as soon as possible, to their own familiar and private environment. Patients did not see the hospital as a place for recovery. Patients claimed that they were used to taking care of themselves within the limits of their strength and energy. If they need help, they first of all turn to family members or relatives. Patients who reported comorbidity did not assess themselves as recovered, while others stated that they had recovered but also suffered from a variety of discomforting symptoms.