ABSTRACT
This chapter reports a study that aimed to address a knowledge gap in the communication needs of mechanically ventilated patients who are awake but cannot speak. It performed a prospective qualitative interview study in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit (ICU) in Hong Kong. Ten recovered ICU patients who previously underwent mechanical ventilation for at least 24 hours and were able to speak at the time of interview were recruited. Semi-structured interviews with stimulated recall technique were conducted to allow participants to discuss the entire breadth of topics (e.g. health- and non-health-related content) that they needed to communicate during the ventilator period. The results show that patients’ communication coping included medical discussions with clinicians; communication with family to provide advice or comfort, making requests and plans, expressing feelings and conveying personal perspectives on medical care; and expression of their own psychoemotional needs.
