A study to assess the communication and level of anxiety among mechanically ventilated conscious patients in intensive care units of sree mookambika medical college hospital at kanyakumari district

Abstract

Mechanical Ventilation is widely used to treat patients who are in critical condition. The aim of using mechanical ventilation is to protect the patient's lungs by providing ventilation until the underlying causes are eliminated. Although the use of assisted ventilation devices has unique benefits for patients, it also causes stress, sleep disturbance, isolation, and prevents them from communicating verbally. The primary objective of the study was to assess the communication and level of anxiety among patients on mechanical ventilators admitted to the ICUs. The secondary objective of the study was to determine the association between communication and level of anxiety with the selected demographic variables. A non-experimental descriptive research design was used in this study. The study was conducted at Sree Mookambika Medical College Hospital, Kulasekharam, Tamil Nadu, India. 30 samples were selected using the convenience sampling technique. The tools used for the data collection were demographic variables, clinical variables, communication scales, and hospital anxiety and depression scales. Findings of the study show that 10% of the sample has medium-level communication difficulties, and 90% of the sample has low-level communication difficulties. 10% of the sample has moderate-level anxiety, and 90% of the sample has severe anxiety. There is a significant association between the level of communication, demographic variables such as source of finance, and clinical variables such as history of previous hospitalization. There is a significant association between the level of anxiety, demographic variables such as gender, and clinical variables, such as duration of ventilator support.