the discovery of the dynamics of nurse-patient interactions in mechanical ventilation: a grounded theory exploration

Background: many nursing theorists have researched the relationship and interaction between nurses and patients for many decades in different general care settings. the interaction between nurses and patients during mechanical ventilation is unique and complex, but has been less studied. nurses’ experiences will provide more insight into how they interact with these patients. this study explores nurses’ perspectives on the process of interaction with patients on mechanical ventilation.  methods: a qualitative study with the grounded theory approach (strauss and corbin, 1998) has been used for this study. a total of 25 nurses from the intensive care unit of the srm medical college and hospital research center in india were included in the study, initially through purposive sampling and subsequently through theoretical sampling, until data saturation was achieved. data were generated using individual, in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. to ensure trustworthiness in this qualitative study, we applied lincoln and guba’s (1985) criteria. results: we found three theoretical constructs: continuum of symptom dynamics, continuum of communication dynamics, and nurse-patient interaction, each consisting of 5–6 thematic categories and 2–5 text-based categories. the synergy between the communication continuum and the symptom continuum forms the basis of the interaction between nurses and patients. conclusion: effective nurse-patient interaction can improve patient outcomes. thus, nurses working with patients receiving mechanical ventilation should understand how these constructs work together.