gms | German Medical Science

Background and Purpose: Weaning patients are at elevated risk of developing a delirium. For delirium prevention, early and valid assessment of patients’ needs during the weaning period is essential. To facilitate this assessment, more robust information is required about the needs as actually perceived by the patients. This study aimed to explore these needs as recalled by intensive care unit (ICU) patients directly after weaning termination and to compare them with the views by relatives and professionals.

Model/Framework: The study was part of a requirement analysis for the development of a sociotechnical support system for weaning patients (ACTIVATE project). It was framed by existing theoretical and empirical evidence on ICU patients’ needs.

Methods: Qualitative descriptive study conducted in one university hospital.

Research Focus: Topic-guided semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposive samples of ICU patients (n=16), relatives (n=16), and medical doctors (n=6), complemented by three focus groups with nurses and therapists (n=28).

Methodological and Theoretical Focus: Data were analysed using theoretical framework analysis.

Results: Two major needs areas emerged from the patients’ perspective: psychosocial needs such as being informed about the situation and having the opportunity to communicate, and symptom-related needs, especially regarding thirst, pain and mobility. Some but not all of these needs were also mentioned by relatives and professionals. Particularly, patients’ psychosocial needs and the need ‘thirst’ played a less central role.

Conclusions: For weaning patients, better possibilities to express ones’ own needs to formal and informal caregivers and to being kept informed appear to be key.

Disclosures: All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interests in the subject matter or material presented.

Funding: The study was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Grant no. 16SV7689).