The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of patients, their family
members, and the nurses in the intensive care unit and to confirm and/or disconfirm the
Roy adaptation model (RAM). Exploring the experiences of patients in the ICU and their
family members, as well as the nurses who care for them, will provide insights into the lived
experiences of critical care within the context of critical illness and hospitalisation in a high
technology environment. Enhancing understanding of lived experience of critical illness will
likely provide insights into care provided by nurses to patients who are critically ill and their
families. From the perspective of the RAM, knowledge based on experiential descriptions,
essential relationships and meaning structures from the persons living the experience can be
used to enhance understanding of theoretical perspectives that guide practice and research.