Experiences of School-Aged Children Receiving Mechanical Ventilation

Abstract

          This qualitative study based on Husserlian phenomenology aimed to describe experiences of school-aged children, aged 10-12 years, receiving mechanical ventilation at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in a tertiary hospital in Songkhla Province, Thailand. Purposive sampling was used to select 12 children who received mechanical ventilation for a period of at least 3 days, had no diseases of the nervous system or brain, and had good consciousness. Data were collected by in-depth interview, audiotape and field note recording. The data were transcribed verbatim, and then analyzed using the Colaizzi method. Trustworthiness of the study was established by following the criteria of Lincoln and Guba.
           The findings revealed six themes of experiences of school-aged children receiving mechanical ventilation: 1) ventilator relieves tiredness, 2) ventilation feels like survival but one must tolerate pain, 3) discomfort is experienced owing to movement of the tubes, being restrained, feeling cold, having insomnia, and wanting to go home, 4) body language is necessary because one could not speak, 5) need for water, food, extubation, rearranging tube position, communication, and wanting their mother, and 6) safety in care but accompanied by pain and always being the last person. The findings can be used for developing holistic nursing care to meet the real needs of school-aged children receiving mechanical ventilation.