Explaining the Context of Patient-Centered Care in Critical Care Units

introduction: patient-centered care refers to care with respect for and responsiveness to patients‟ preferences, needs, and values; in this type of care, it is ensured that a patient's values are valued in clinical decision-making. achieving patient-centered care is not simple and needs a proper context to be provided. objectives: the purpose of this study is to explain the context of patient-centered care in critical care units. materials and methods: this study is of a qualitative nature with a content analysis approach. a total of 26 deep, semi-structured interviews were used in this study. the research setting included critical care units of selected hospitals of the tehran university of medical sciences. participants' speeches were recorded with a tape recorder and immediately transcribed word-by-word. after reading the interviews, the resulting data were coded and then classified according to the similarities and differences in order to understand the general text of the interviews; the sub-categories and the sub- categories were extracted. results: the study data led to the identification of three categories: specialized nature of care, individual factors, and organizational factors. the third category consisted of three subcategories such as hardware, attention-to-model experiences, and the actual performance of managers. conclusion: patient-centered care is a multidimensional and subjective concept focused on nurses' perceptions. in order to achieve patient-centered care, not only the effectiveness of the nurses' efforts but up-to-date knowledge, the hardware structure of care, and the performance of managers at a wider level are also important.