Hong-Mei Liu,1,2,* Jing-Yi Jin,2,* Yun Zhang,2 Jing-Yi Gao,2 Jian-Hong Ji1 

1Department of Critical Care Medicine, Nantong First People’s Hospital, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, 226006, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, 226001, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Jian-Hong Ji, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Nantong First People’s Hospital, No. 666 of ShengLi Road, Chongchuan District, NanTong, Jiangsu Province, 226006, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 1381526783, Email jijianhong_jjh@126.com

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the effects of a humanistic care program based on narrative nursing theory on psychological well-being in conscious patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Methods: A convenience sampling method was used to recruit patients in the ICU from a tertiary grade A general hospital. The control group received standard humanistic care measures, whereas the experimental group participated in a narrative-based humanistic care program. The intervention was administered from the point of regained consciousness until hospital discharge. Outcome measures included the sense of being cared for, anxiety, psychological distress, and sleep quality, which were assessed and compared between the two groups.
Results: A total of 86 patients completed the study, with 42 in the experimental group and 44 in the control group. Following the intervention, the sense of being cared for was significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group Anxiety scores were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group Depression scores were also lower in the experimental group compared to the control group. Additionally, psychological distress scores were reduced in the experimental group when compared to the control group.
Conclusion: The implementation of a narrative nursing-based humanistic care program did not yield significant improvements in sleep quality among conscious patients in the ICU. However, the program can enhance the patients’ sense of being cared for, improve their anxiety and depression, and reduce the level of psychological pain.

Keywords: humanistic care, ICU, narrative nursing, nursing psychological distress, sleep quality