Due to advances in medical care, the number of patients surviving critical illness is on the rise. As a result, our healthcare system has a new and growing subset of patients dealing with a variety of issues related to survivorship. These issues, called post-intensive care syndrome, fall into three pillars: physical, cognitive, and psychiatric. While targeted efforts have begun to attempt to manage the physical and cognitive deficits, how to treat the psychiatric deficits remains unclear. So far, the handful of studies attempting to treat these psychiatric outcomes via a variety of approaches have had only limited success. Further, there is an inadequate understanding of the patient perception of these experiences and to better grasp this may help target future studies. The proposed study is a randomized, non-blinded, longitudinal controlled trial with the goal to limit the development of psychiatric symptoms following ICU admission. The intervention, conducted by a trained, Licensed Clinical Social Worker will take place in the form of a one time, in hospital debriefing of the ICU experience. Following the intervention, the patients will be surveyed to identify the presence of PTSD symptoms at various time intervals following hospital discharge. In addition, a number of interviews will be recorded and undergo qualitative analysis to identify cohesive themes and develop a better understanding of the patient perception of their experience. If successful, this study would lead to an improved quality of life for this patient population, as well as lessen their dependence on the healthcare system, reducing the associated financial burden following ICU admission.

Bakgrund: Utvecklingen av intensivvården har under de senaste åren lett till att antalet personer som överlever intensivvården har ökat. Över hälften av alla överlevare drabbas av olika komplikationer i efterförloppet som kräver behandling och rehabilitering. Kunskapen om detta är av betydelse för sjuksköterskan för att förstå vikten av personcentrerad vård efter intensivvårdsbehandling. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att sammanställa intensivvårdsbehandlade patienters upplevelser av efterförloppet. Metod: En kvalitativ litteraturstudie med induktivt förhållningssätt. Databaserna PubMed, Cinahl och SveMed+ användes för att ta fram material för studien. En kvalitetsgranskning av studierna utfördes med SBU:s granskningsmall för kvalitativa studier. Resultat: Resultatet redovisas utifrån sex kategorier: fysisk, psykisk och kognitiv påverkan, en lång återhämtningsprocess, behov av stöd från närstående, behov av omvårdnad, behov av hanteringsstrategier och förändringar av livet. Konklusion: Studiens resultat skildrar de intensivvårdsbehandlade patienternas olika upplevelser i efterförloppet. Patienterna upplevde att deras behov inte blev tillgodosedda samt att tillgången till och kvaliteten på den uppföljande vården var begränsad. De upplevde även en brist på information om vad tiden efter intensivvårdsbehandlingen skulle innebära. Den uppföljande vården har utvecklats under den senaste tiden, men behöver fortsatt utveckling för att kunna tillgodose behoven hos denna patientgrupp. / Background: The development of intensive care during the latest years have led to increasing numbers of ICU survivors. More than half of all survivors are affected by different complications after intensive care treatment that needs treatment and rehabilitation. This knowledge is of meaning for the nurse to understand the importance of person-centred care after intensive care treatment. Aim: The aim of the study was to compile patients’ experiences of recovery after intensive care treatment. Method: A literature review with a qualitative approach was used. Literature searches were performed in the databases PubMed, Cinahl and SveMed+. The quality of the selected studies was assessed using SBU’s review tamplet for qualitative studies. Results: The results are reported based on six categories: physical, mental, and cognitive impact, a long recovery-process, need for support from family and friends, need for care, need for coping strategies and changes in life. Conclusion: The results of the study describes the patients´ different experiences during the recovery from intensive care treatment. The patients experienced that their needs weren´t fullfilled and that the availability and quality of the follow-up care was limited. They also experienced that there was a lack of information about the recovery. The follow-up care has developed during the recent years, but it needs further development to be able to meet the needs of this group of patients.