Organizing Safe Transitions from Intensive Care

Background. Organizing and performing patient transfers in the continuum of care is part of the work of nurses and other staff of a multiprofessional healthcare team. An understanding of discharge practices is needed in order to ultimate patients’ transfers from high technological intensive care uni...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marie Häggström, Britt Bäckström
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2014-01-01
Series:Nursing Research and Practice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/175314
id doaj-6542b4d1f50e4f6192112e560b4aab56
record_format Article
spelling doaj-6542b4d1f50e4f6192112e560b4aab562020-11-24T20:57:49ZengHindawi LimitedNursing Research and Practice2090-14292090-14372014-01-01201410.1155/2014/175314175314Organizing Safe Transitions from Intensive CareMarie Häggström0Britt Bäckström1Department of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden University, 85170 Sundsvall, SwedenMid Sweden University, 85170 Sundsvall, SwedenBackground. Organizing and performing patient transfers in the continuum of care is part of the work of nurses and other staff of a multiprofessional healthcare team. An understanding of discharge practices is needed in order to ultimate patients’ transfers from high technological intensive care units (ICU) to general wards. Aim. To describe, as experienced by intensive care and general ward staff, what strategies could be used when organizing patient’s care before, during, and after transfer from intensive care. Method. Interviews of 15 participants were conducted, audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results. The results showed that the categories secure, encourage, and collaborate are strategies used in the three phases of the ICU transitional care process. The main category; a safe, interactive rehabilitation process, illustrated how all strategies were characterized by an intention to create and maintain safety during the process. A three-way interaction was described: between staff and patient/families, between team members and involved units, and between patient/family and environment. Discussion/Conclusions. The findings highlight that ICU transitional care implies critical care rehabilitation. Discharge procedures need to be safe and structured and involve collaboration, encouraging support, optimal timing, early mobilization, and a multidiscipline approach.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/175314
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Marie Häggström
Britt Bäckström
spellingShingle Marie Häggström
Britt Bäckström
Organizing Safe Transitions from Intensive Care
Nursing Research and Practice
author_facet Marie Häggström
Britt Bäckström
author_sort Marie Häggström
title Organizing Safe Transitions from Intensive Care
title_short Organizing Safe Transitions from Intensive Care
title_full Organizing Safe Transitions from Intensive Care
title_fullStr Organizing Safe Transitions from Intensive Care
title_full_unstemmed Organizing Safe Transitions from Intensive Care
title_sort organizing safe transitions from intensive care
publisher Hindawi Limited
series Nursing Research and Practice
issn 2090-1429
2090-1437
publishDate 2014-01-01
description Background. Organizing and performing patient transfers in the continuum of care is part of the work of nurses and other staff of a multiprofessional healthcare team. An understanding of discharge practices is needed in order to ultimate patients’ transfers from high technological intensive care units (ICU) to general wards. Aim. To describe, as experienced by intensive care and general ward staff, what strategies could be used when organizing patient’s care before, during, and after transfer from intensive care. Method. Interviews of 15 participants were conducted, audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results. The results showed that the categories secure, encourage, and collaborate are strategies used in the three phases of the ICU transitional care process. The main category; a safe, interactive rehabilitation process, illustrated how all strategies were characterized by an intention to create and maintain safety during the process. A three-way interaction was described: between staff and patient/families, between team members and involved units, and between patient/family and environment. Discussion/Conclusions. The findings highlight that ICU transitional care implies critical care rehabilitation. Discharge procedures need to be safe and structured and involve collaboration, encouraging support, optimal timing, early mobilization, and a multidiscipline approach.
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/175314
work_keys_str_mv AT mariehaggstrom organizingsafetransitionsfromintensivecare
AT brittbackstrom organizingsafetransitionsfromintensivecare
_version_ 1716787367008796672