Evaluating the past to improve the future - A qualitative study of ICU patients' experiences.

Background: The recovery period for patients who have been in an intensive care unitis often prolonged and suboptimal. Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder are common psychological problems. Intensive care staff offer various types of intensive aftercare.

The meaning of family members' presence during intensive care stay: a qualitative study.

The aim of this study was to investigate what the presence of family members meant to patients in intensive care units. The study employed a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews and qualitative content analysis. Eleven intensive care patients were interviewed at a university hospital in Norway.