Experiences of Care in Intensive Care Units After a Suicide Attempt From the Perspectives of Patients, Family Members and Healthcare Personnel-A Scoping Review.
Aleksandra Jarling, Fredrika Sundberg
PMID 42359910WHAT IT FOUND
After ICU care for a suicide attempt, patients wanted emotional support, families needed private communication, and staff reported mixed empathy and irritation.
The included studies were old, so this maps accounts, not proof.
Key findings
01Patients reported physical pain from life-sustaining devices and satisfaction with somatic care, but felt their emotional distress was not addressed.
02Family members described profound distress and needed private conversations with staff, but reported limited access to such spaces and sometimes felt staff communication was accusatory.
03ICU personnel reported powerlessness, hopelessness, insecurity, fear, anxiety and guilt, and some expressed irritation or saw patients as diverting resources; many wanted more reflection and education.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only five articles were included, and none were published within the past 15 years. Four of the five studies were surveys of staff attitudes, so they may reflect respondent bias and do not show patient or family experiences. Only one study included patients and family members, so first-person accounts are very limited. The review was limited to English, peer-reviewed studies and excluded grey literature, so relevant studies may be missing. The included studies covered adult populations only and came from a small number of countries.
Declared interests
The authors report no funding, no ethics statement, and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat this as current evidence that ICU staff routinely lack empathy or that specific communication changes improve outcomes. The included studies are few, old, and mostly describe staff attitudes rather than patient or family experiences.