The phenomenon experienced by family members with a relative interned in the Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand the lived phenomenon of relatives having a patient hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit. It was conducted using the phenomenological approach in the modality of the situated phenomenon. Ten family members of patients interned in intensive care unit of a private hospital in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte were interviewed from March to July of 2006. Five thematic categories emerged from the analysis that constituted the elements of the lived experience: Fear of the patient’s death; Absence of humanization; Social isolation; Trust in intensive care unit; and Personal life overloaded. With the phenomenon revealed, it was possible to subsidize the construction of a humanized care approach that considers the patient's family.