Publications by authors named "Doris Christensen"
Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate intervention fidelity of nurses' delivery of the RAPIT recovery program for postintensive care patients.
Background: Interventions addressing patient problems after intensive care lack description of the process of delivery and the evidence of their effectiveness. This is needed to understand how these interventions work.
Background: Relatives of intensive care patients are at risk of developing symptoms of anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress resulting in reduced health-related quality of life. Recovery programmes for patients have been implemented, but their effect on relatives is uncertain.
Aim: To determine whether relatives benefit from a recovery programme intended for intensive care survivors.
Background: Relatives of intensive care patients are at risk of developing symptoms of anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress resulting in reduced health-related quality of life. Recovery programmes for patients have been implemented, but their effect on relatives is uncertain.
Aim: To determine whether relatives benefit from a recovery programme intended for intensive care survivors.
Purpose: The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to test the effectiveness of a post-ICU recovery program compared to standard care during the first year after ICU discharge.
Methods: A pragmatic, non-blinded, multicenter, parallel-group RCT was conducted between December 2012 and December 2015, at ten intensive care units (ICUs) in Denmark. We randomly assigned 386 adult patients (≥18 years) after receiving mechanical ventilation (≥48 h) to standard care (SC) plus a nurse-led intensive care recovery program or standard care alone after ICU discharge (190 intervention, 196 SC).
Aims And Objectives: To describe the patient experience of ICU recovery from a longitudinal perspective by analysing follow-up consultations at three time-points.
Background: After a stay in the intensive care unit, patients risk physical and psychological problems during recovery. Follow-up after intensive care has emerged to aid psychological recovery, and improve health-related quality of life.
Introduction: Long-term psychological consequences of critical illness are receiving more attention in recent years. The aim of our study was to assess the correlation of ICU-delirium and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) anxiety and depression after ICU-discharge in a Danish cohort.
Methods: A prospective observational cohort study assessing the incidence of delirium in the ICU.
Aims And Objectives: To investigate the effects of delirium in the intensive care unit on health-related quality of life, healthcare dependency and memory after discharge and to explore the association between health-related quality of life and memories, patient diaries and intensive care unit follow-up.
Background: Up to 83% of intensive care unit patients experience delirium. In addition to increased risk of mortality, morbidity and cognitive impairment, the experience itself is unpleasant.
Purpose: To describe how fatigue is experienced by stroke survivors, how they understand and deal with fatigue and how fatigue impacts their daily life.
Method: A qualitative interview study was carried out as part of a larger longitudinal study investigating the prevalence, characteristics and contributing factors to post-stroke fatigue. Thirty-two participants (15 men and 17 women) were strategically sampled to explore the experiences of fatigue.
Objective: After a stay in the intensive care unit, patients risk experiencing delusional memories, memory loss, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Since the 1990s, diaries have been kept for intensive care unit patients to help fill in memory gaps, aid psychosocial recovery, and improve health-related quality of life. More insight is needed into the application of diaries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To test responsiveness and sensitivity to change of the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale Danish version (SSQOL-DK) scores in patients following stroke.
Methods: A follow-up study of 150 patients with first-ever stroke was used. Questionnaires on quality of life, fatigue, depression, and functional level were completed.
Intensive care survivors often suffer from memory disorders, and some go on to develop anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress. Since the 1980s nurses have written diaries for intensive care patients to help them understand their illness and come to terms with their experiences after discharge. The central question we posed in this study was: Why do nurses write diaries in addition to conventional charting in the medical record? To answer this question, we compared intensive care diaries and hospital charts using textual analysis and narrative theory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnalysis of patient diaries in Danish ICUs: a narrative approach.
Intensive Crit Care Nurs
October 2009
Objectives: The objective was to describe the structure and content of patient diaries written for critically ill patients in Danish intensive care units (ICUs).
Background: Critical illness is associated with physical and psychological aftermath including cognitive impairment and post-traumatic stress. Patient diaries written in the intensive care unit are used to help ICU-survivors come to terms with their illness.
Background: The aim of this study was to examine the course of poststroke fatigue in a cohort of first-time stroke patients compared to the general population, and to identify clinically relevant features of post-stroke fatigue.
Methods: We performed a follow-up study of 165 patients with first-time stroke admitted to acute stroke units at the Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. A reference group of 1,069 persons was sampled from the general population.