Öz
Aim: Neurological diseases are among the diseases that require the most intensive care in the chronic period, with an acute and chronic period. Nurses working in the intensive care unit communicate with the patient as well as their family. Sudden changes in the patient, especially in intensive care units, can be reflected in the relatives of the patient and problems may occur in communication with nurses. This study aimed to examine the communication of nurses working in the neurology intensive care unit with the patient family and the influencing factors.
Methods: Ten neurology intensive care unit nurses, who had been working in the intensive care unit for at least 6 months and agreed to participate in the study after the purpose of the study was explained, were included in this study. An appointment was made by talking to the nurses beforehand. Interviews were carried out through a semi-structured interview form created using the literature. During the interviews, the consent of the participants was obtained and audio recording was made, and verbatim transcriptions were made. Thematic analysis was used in the analysis of the interviews.
Results: Participants mean age 37,3±4,5 and duration of work 13,6±8,92 years. Eight nurses stated that they chose their profession voluntarily, and one nurse stated that they preferred to work in the intensive care unit. It was understood that when the participants had communication problems with their relatives, their daily and private lives were negatively affected. In addition, the participants described the behaviours of the relatives of the patients towards themselves as “disrespectful” and “lack of empathy”. Finally, it is understood that the intensive care and hospital conditions also contribute to the communication problems with the relatives of the patients.
Conclusions: In general, it was understood that nurses were not satisfied with the way patients’ family communicated, negative behaviors of patients’ family reduced their work motivation and they expected respect from their relatives. Understanding the communication styles of patients’ family through the eyes of nurses will provide an insight into the experiences of nurses who make an important contribution to public health.