Abstract
Background
Conscious patients under mechanical ventilation encounter significant challenges due to their inability to communicate, leading to anxiety, agitation, and uncontrolled pain. Effective communication training for nurses is crucial to manage these issues. This study aimed to determine the impact of training nurses in illustrated communication skills on physiological indicators, pain, agitation, and ease of communication with conscious mechanically ventilated patients.
Method
A quasi-experimental pre-and-post study was conducted at Besat Hospital in Hamadan, Iran, involving 37 nurses and 70 patients. Sampling was convenient and sequential. The Ease of Communication, Richmond Agitation-Sedation, Pain Numeric Rating scales, and vital signs were measured before and 48 hours after the intervention commenced. The control group did not receive training, while the experimental group was trained in the use of illustrated communication boards and interacted with patients using these boards for 48 hours. Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 16.
Result
Before the intervention, no significant differences were observed between the intervention and control groups regarding demographic variables, average pain intensity, agitation, communication difficulty, and vital signs (p > 0.05). However, after the intervention, the experimental group showed a significant reduction in all studied variables except blood pressure compared to the control group (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Training nurses in the use of illustrated communication boards can enhance communication and reduce agitation, pain, heart rate, and respiration in patients under mechanical ventilation. Ultimately, this study highlights the importance of nurse education and the development of communication tools to improve interactions between nurses and intubated patients. Such training can improve treatment outcomes. This research could pave the way for future studies.