Date of Award

2-7-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MScN)

First Advisor

Dr Tazeen Saeed Ali

Second Advisor

Farida Bibi Mughal

Third Advisor

Zahira Amirali

Department

School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Mechanical ventilation is a lifesaving intervention to support respiration when a patient is incapable to maintain their normal respiration. Mechanical ventilation where a life-saving modality, it also has potential complications during and post-extubation, which may affect the quality of life of the patients. However, health professionals could adopt strategies to subside the complications that have an impact on the quality of life of the patients. Literature does not show evidence of the studies conducted in Pakistan to assess the quality of life of post-extubated patients after discharge. Research studies done globally have revealed changes in QoL, so, the intended study desired to explore the experiences of patients who have received mechanical ventilation to explore their quality of life.
Purpose: The study aimed to determine the quality of life of patients, who had undergone mechanical ventilation and were successfully extubated, six months after discharge, in a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Methodology: The qualitative exploratory descriptive study design was utilized to assess the quality of life of patients, who had received mechanical ventilation and were successfully extubated, at six months of their discharge. The purposive sampling method was utilized to choose the study participants having the maximum differences. The data collection was done through interviews, by using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic analysis was done to obtain themes, categories, and sub-categories.
Results: The thematic analysis of the collected information, through the use of semi-structured interview guide, yielded two themes: pain and suffering for a new life, and changes in quality of life after extubating. The findings showed that the participants had faced problems in physical, psychological, social, sexual, and spiritual domains during their recovery period, after their discharge from the hospital. The study findings suggest that patients had suffered from problems in all domains, but the physical, psychological, and sexual quality of life had been affected a lot.
Conclusion: The current study concluded that the participants faced various problems during their rehabilitation after extubating, which affected their quality of life. The quality of life of the patients, which was mostly affected in the physical, psychological, and sexual domains had improved to some extent after six months, but they were still struggling with some issues. Moreover, although they had problems, the participants were found to be satisfied and had adjusted themselves to the current quality of life.

First Page

1

Last Page

87

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