The effect of training on reducing environmental stressors given to nurses on intensive care patients' perception of the presence of the nurse

Aim: The environmental characteristics of intensive care units include many stressors for patients. It is very important for nurses to recognize these stressors affecting the patient in intensive care units and develop solutions. In this way, patients’ exposure to stressors decreases and they feel cared by the nurse. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of training on reducing environmental stressors given to nurses on intensive care patients' perception of the presence of the nurse. Material and Methods: The study is a quasi-experimental, separate sample group intervention study. The study was conducted in two groups: nurses working in the cardiovascular surgery intensive care unit and patients cared for by these nurses. The sample of the study consisted of 13 nurses working in the cardiovascular surgery intensive care unit and 66 patients, 33 before and 33 after the training. The nurses were given a 12-hour training to reduce environmental stressors in the intensive care environment. The study data were collected by interviewing the patients cared for by the nurses before and after the training. The ‘Patient Information Form’, ‘The Intensive Care Unit Environmental Stressors Scale’, ‘The Intensive Care Experience Scale’ and ‘The Nurse Presence Scale’ were used for the data collected from the patients. The data belonging to the nurses were obtained with the ‘Nurse Information Form’. SPSS 23.0 package program was used in the analysis of the data obtained in the study. Results: After the environmental stress factor reduction training provided to the nurses, an increase was observed in patients' perceptions of the nurse's presence and positive experiences in the intensive care unit, while no significant change was seen in the level of perception of environmental stress factors in the intensive care unit Conclusion: It was concluded that the 12-hour training given to intensive care nurses positively affected patients' perception of the presence of the nurse, was effective in patients' positive intensive care experiences and was more effective on physiopathologic stressors affecting patients.