Intensive Care Experience of Critical Care Patients and Its Related Factors : A Secondary Analysis Study

Purpose : This study investigates the experiences of patients in intensive care units (ICUs), and the factors influencing these experiences.Method : We used a cross-sectional survey design to analyze previously collected cohort data from 891 patients who spent over 24 hours in 19 ICUs across four university hospitals in Busan, South Korea between June 2019 and July 2020. Within a week of ICU discharge, participants completed the Korean version of the Intensive Care Experience Questionnaire, covering four areas: “awareness of surroundings,” “frightening experiences,” “satisfaction with care,” and “recall of experiences.” We used multiple linear regression to identify factors associated with the ICU experience.Results : Low income (β = -.08, p = .016), unplanned hospitalization (β = -.09, p = .006), sedation (β = -.16, p ＜ .001), and delirium (β = -.15, p ＜ .001) reduce patients’ awareness of their surroundings. Frightening experiences are associated with being female (β = -.07, p = .027), experiencing delirium (β = -.15, p ＜ .001), and longer stays in the ICU (β = -.14, p ＜ .001). Using sedatives decreases satisfaction with care (β = -.08, p = .048). Living alone (β = -.08, p = .013) and using painkillers (β = -.08, p = .020) reduces recall of experiences.Conclusion : Negative ICU experiences are significantly associated with being female, living alone, lower income, unplanned admission, using sedatives and painkillers, delirium, and longer stays in the ICU. Thus, improving ICU experiences requires interventions that address modifiable factors, such as delirium, medication, and length of ICU stays.