“I Was Lying on a Bed Just Like the Wounded in the War”: A Qualitative Study Explaining the Experiences of Brain Injury Patients Hospitalized in ICU

Background: The experiences of patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) can be used as one of the important components to develop and provide humane and holistic care tailored to the needs and preferences of these patients. Objectives: The current study was conducted to explain the experiences of brain injury patients hospitalized in the ICU. Methods: This was a qualitative study using conventional content analysis. The participants included brain injury patients with a history of hospitalization in the ICU and were selected using a purposive sampling method. At least 3 months after discharge from the ICU, face-to-face unstructured in-depth interviews were conducted with the participants to explore their experiences regarding hospitalization in the ICU. Finally, the collected data were analyzed based on the content analysis model of Graneheim and Lundman. Results: Data analysis indicated 238 compact semantic units (initial codes). Based on their similarities and differences, these codes were organized into 22 subcategories, 6 categories, and 2 themes, including “the suffering body and soul” and “illumination in the dark”. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that hospitalization in the ICU is a very difficult and unpleasant experience for brain injury patients due to enduring an immense amount of physical and mental suffering. The ICU care and treatment team can moderate this unpleasant experience to some extent by paying careful attention to the physical and mental needs of these patients. The results of the present study can serve as a clinical manual for providing humane and holistic care tailored to the needs and preferences of brain injury patients hospitalized in the ICU.