Critical illness is clearly a significant life event and an
important cause of suffering and long-term physical and psychological
morbidity. Much of the research in this area has
focussed upon clinical care aimed at improving survival and
the quality of life for survivors and on the physiology, therapeutics
and the economics of critical illness and critical care
(Vincent et al., 2010).
There is an emerging body of international qualitative
literature on the patient experience of critical illness. No
attempts have so far been made to explore this literature
as a whole, through structured analysis, to establish the
themes associated with the experience of critical illness.
This paper comprises a critical review of this literature
and thereby intends to inform critical care nursing practice.