Risk factors associated with transfer anxiety among patients transferring from the intensive care unit to the ward

• Risk factors associated with transfer anxiety among patients transferring from the intensive care unit to the ward
• Authors: Brodsky-Israeli M and DeKeyser Ganz F
• Journal: Journal of Advanced Nursing March 2011 67(3)

I have chosen to review this piece of research as it has a direct relationship with my own working environment. It highlights an issue that I was aware of but, as the article points out, has only a small amount of research directly relating to it.

In my limited experience as a nurse I have found that the large percentage of patients, no matter which ward they are on, experience a degree of anxiety while in hospital. As nurses we try to provide reassurance and support, attempting to provide accessible information and build trust. It is hard to imagine however the feeling of abandonment that an ITU patient might feel when moving from an environment in which they had nearly constant one to one monitoring and nursing overview alongside extended visiting hours for friends and family to a regular medical or surgical ward.    

I enjoyed reading this research as it inadvertently draws attention to a possible disconnection between ITU staff perception of patient ward transfers and that of the patients and their family. If a patient has recovered enough to warrant a step down in the level of care they are receiving I have seen this as a positive step, but for the patient this reduction in interaction with nursing and medical staff may cause real anxiety and feelings of a loss of security, especially if there is little preparation.

Interestingly the risk factors for the development of transfer anxiety identified in this research were gender, social support and length of ITU stay.  The study suggests that men and those patients with strong social support are less likely to suffer from transfer anxiety, while unsurprisingly; a longer ITU admission increases the likelihood. While this identifies those who are more at risk, it is important to remember that nearly half of all the participants within this study suffered from transfer anxiety.

As I have already mentioned the amount of research on the subject is limited and while this research raises interesting points it is limited in its scope. Only 100 participants took part in the research and it was limited to one medical centre. It does provide some insight in to actions that could be taken to assist recovering patients in the transition from high level intensive care to care which is now more appropriate to their medical needs.