Framework of humanistic care for patients in the ICU: A preliminary study

Abstract Background Humanistic care involves caring, concern, paying attention to people's individuality, meeting their needs and respecting their rights, which is the core concept and central task of nursing. Effective care can enhance patients’ ability to deal with stress and promote patient recovery. Implementing humanistic care in the intensive care unit (ICU) is particularly important for health care providers. Aim This study aims to develop a framework of the humanistic care in the ICU . Study Design The qualitative research followed Strauss' procedural grounded theory approach. Purposive sampling and theoretical sampling were used to select 12 nurses in the Department of Critical Medicine, 16 patients, and eight family members for semi‐structured interviews from October 2020 to April 2021. Results were summarized and analysed through three‐level coding based on grounded principles. Results Sixteen subcategories and six main categories were extracted after three‐level coding, and the final ICU humanistic care framework was formed with home, activity, visit, environment, nursing and safety (“HAVENS”) as the core. Conclusions This study provides an explanatory theory of humanistic care in the ICU that can guide nurses' practice in ICU clinical work. Relevance to clinical practice This theory provides guidance for nurses to implement humanistic care in critical care practice to improve the ICU stay experience of critically ill patients.