The phenomenon of interest for this study was the experience of patients, their family
members, and the nurses during critical illness in the intensive care unit. The specific focus
was the nurse’s experience of the patient and their family members and consequently the
experiences by the patients and the families of the nurses during critical illness in the ICU.
The research questions that guided this study were (1) What are the patients’ and their
families’ experiences of the nurse in an intensive care unit environment?, and (2) What are
the nurses’ experiences of the patients and families in an intensive care unit environment?