ArticleCritical care explorations2021
Humanizing the ICU Patient: A Qualitative Exploration of Behaviors Experienced by Patients, Caregivers, and ICU Staff.
Article in Critical care explorations, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patients' experiences of humanising care in Scandinavian intensive care units - a systematic review.Nursing ethics · 2026Pooled it
- Humanizing and dehumanizing intensive care: Thematic synthesis (HumanIC).Journal of advanced nursing · 2023Pooled it
- Article
- Case Series: Episodes of Care in an Intensive Care Garden-Does Fresh Air Matter?Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- Making Comfort Visible or Making Patients Comfortable? Rethinking Structured Humanisation in Intensive Care.Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- Humanistic care in the ICU: effects on patient dignity, delirium and family satisfaction - a non-randomised clinical trial protocol.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Evaluating an interprofessional team coaching program to promote a human-centered ICU environment.ATS scholar · 2026Article
- Humanity-based nursing care in the ICU: a descriptive qualitative study.Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHM · 2026Article
- The Ethical Tightrope of Physical and Environmental Restraint in ICU: A Balancing Act.Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- ICU Nurses' Perceptions of Family-Inclusive Outdoor Excursions: Enhancing Family Engagement and Humanisation in Intensive Care.Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- Quantifying the recollection of discomfort and emotional suffering during a stay in intensive care: development and validation of the EXPRIM questionnaire : EXPRIM: quantification of discomfort experienced during an ICU stay.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2026Article
- Stakeholder Perspectives on Humanistic Implementation of Computer Perception in Health Care: Qualitative Study.JMIR mental health · 2026Article
- Humanizing care in the ICU: implementation of the Get to Know Me Board in patient care.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Humanizing care in the ICU: how system pressures shape interacting patterns of hurry, blur, burden, and cruelty.Frontiers in health services · 2026Article
- "It's really about something! I can save the patient a lot of suffering if I get him to do it": between care and coercion in the use of non-invasive ventilation.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Virtual reality for relaxation in intensive care unit patients: feasibility, acceptability and intervention adaptation.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2025Article
- Caregiver and care team perspectives of caregiver psychological distress and well-being during critical care hospitalization: a qualitative study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Creating a Culture of an Awake and Walking Intensive Care Unit: In-Hospital Strategies to Mitigate Post-Intensive Care Syndrome.Critical care clinics · 2025Review
- Effects of a Narrative Nursing-Based Humanistic Care Program on Psychological Well-Being in Conscious Patients in the ICU.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2025Article
- Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of Patients' Out-of-ICU Activities: Exploring Opportunities for Humanizing ICU Care.Journal of patient experience · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo understand how patients and family members experience dehumanizing or humanizing treatment when in the ICU.
designQualitative study included web-based focus groups and open-ended surveys posted to ICU patient/family social media boards. Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed. Social media responses were collected and organized by stakeholder group. Data underwent qualitative analysis.
settingRemote focus groups and online surveys. PATIENTS: ICU patient survivors, family members, and ICU teams.
interventionsNot available. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN
resultsSemi-structured questions and open-ended survey responses. We enrolled 40 patients/family members and 31 ICU team members. Focus groups and surveys revealed three primary themes orienting humanizing/dehumanizing ICU experiences: 1) communication, 2) outcomes, and 3) causes of dehumanization. Dehumanization occurred during "communication" exchanges when ICU team members talked "over" patients, made distressing remarks when patients were present, or failed to inform patients about ICU-related care. "Outcomes" of dehumanization were associated with patient loss of trust in the medical team, loss of motivation to participate in ICU recovery, feeling of distress, guilt, depression, and anxiety. Humanizing behaviors were associated with improved recovery, well-being, and trust. "Perceived causes" of dehumanizing behaviors were linked to patient, ICU team, and healthcare system factors.
conclusionsBehaviors of ICU clinicians may cause patients and families to feel dehumanized when in the ICU. Negative behaviors are noticed by patients and families, possibly contributing to poor outcomes including mental health, recovery, and lack of trust in ICU teams. Supporting ICU clinicians may enable a more empathic environment and in turn more humanizing clinician-patient encounters.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.