Intensive Care Unit Nurses' Views on Recognizing and Caring for Inpatients' Anxiety Levels: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

Background/Objectives: Anxiety in intensive care patients is a significant concern, yet limited evidence exists regarding nurses' perspectives on its assessment and management. This study aimed to explore intensive care nurses' views and experiences regarding the recognition, assessment, and management of anxiety among hospitalized intensive care patients. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was employed, and the study sample consisted of 21 nurses selected from 50 nurses working in the intensive care unit of the hospital. The data were collected through in-depth interviews conducted in person between July and September 2021. The data were analyzed manually using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Results: A thorough analysis of the interviews yielded four overarching themes: the nurses' initial assessment priorities, the nurses' recognition of and responses to patient anxiety, approaches to reducing anxiety, and factors affecting anxiety assessment. Four main themes and ten sub-themes emerged from the interviews. The theme "Nurses' Initial Assessment Priorities" comprised the sub-themes "Prioritizing the Emergency" and "Getting to Know the Patient." The theme "Nurses' Recognition of and Responses to Patient Anxiety" included "Under-recognition of Anxiety," "Compliance with Care and Treatment," and "Recognizing Psychological Needs." The theme "Approaches to Reducing Anxiety" comprised "Providing Information" and "Therapeutic Communication and Emotional Support." Finally, the theme "Factors Affecting Anxiety Assessment" included "Workload," "Organizational and Work-Related Factors," and "Training Needs." Conclusions: It is recommended that in-service training programmes covering psychosocial care, anxiety assessment and management be organised for intensive care nurses and that more emphasis be placed on psychosocial care and patient anxiety in intensive care in nursing undergraduate and graduate education programmes.