Assessment of Patients Stressors at Intensive Care Units

Abstract

Objective: To assess of patient stressor in Intensive care unit (ICU) and find out relationship between patients stressor and some demographic data age and gander.

Methodology: selected sample of occasional (non-probability) for 50 patients in intensive care units and conducted them open-heart surgery in three hospitals for heart surgery in the city of Baghdad in the period of 1st December 2005 to 1st April 2006. And to achieve the objectives of the research conducted Different Aspects Related to form consisted of two parts of demographic information and Intensive Care Unit Environment Stressor Scale (ICU ESS) which includes 37 items.

Result: The results of the study; that 38% of the sample aged between (40-49) years and 56% of males and 28% of college graduates. The highest level of rates of mean score of the items are feeling weary bored (2.76) and pain (2.7) and the discomfort of needles (2.68) and the presence of the pipe in the mouth and nose (2.62). Moreover, there were a relationship between the level of patient's stressors in ICU and gender

Conclusions: Most of the respondents suffer of physical pressure in the intensive care units of more than items psychological and social pressures.

Recommendations: the study recommends to work on the training of personnel in the intensive care units on patient education and the means to overcome and adapt to the physical and psychological pressures of social and natural and intensive care units.