Humanity-based nursing care in the ICU: a descriptive qualitative study

Providing humane care in intensive care units (ICUs) is a crucial ethical issue due to the critical nature of patients in these units. This study aimed to examine the experiences of ICU nurses in providing humanity-based care (HBC) to patients admitted to these units. This study uses an exploratory-descriptive qualitative design. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 9 nurses working in the ICUs of five educational hospitals. Finally, the data were analyzed via conventional content analysis with the five steps of Graneheim and Lundman’s technique. Data analysis identified a main theme and eight main categories. The main themes of this study were: “humanity-based care” and the eight categories included providing patient-centered care, providing patients’ best interests, providing mental and emotional comfort, evidence-based practice, respect for human dignity and values, avoiding violence in care, patient education, and effective patient communication. Since helping and caring for a person at risk is a moral obligation, the critical conditions of ICU patients and the need for HBC increase the duty of nurses as providers of direct care to this group of patients.