The views of the nurses working at intensive care units and the patients having services from these units on patient privacy

The aim of the study was to determine views of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses' and patients about patient privacy. Phenomenological design, which is a qualitative research method, was used. The study population consisted of ICU nurses and patients of the anesthesia reanimation, cardiovascular surgery, brain and nerve surgery ICUs of Ankara Training and Research Hospital. The study sample consisted of 14 patients and 14 nurses. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling, which is a non-probability sampling method used to collect qualitative data. Sample size was based on data saturation. Data were collected using an introductory information form and a semi-structured interview form. Content analysis revealed contexts (nurses: 4 patient: 4), themes (nurses: 14 patient: 13) and sub-themes (nurses: 29 patient: 23). All interviews were audio-recorded and then transcribed. In the results of working all participant patients were treated for diseases requiring surgical intervention, and the mean duration of hospitalization at ICU was 4.5 ± 3.7 days. Most of the participant nurses were women and had a bachelors' degree, and were informed about patient privacy However, it was also determined that none of them had read articles about patient privacy. The contexts for the nurses and patients were the concept of privacy, privacy protection, privacy violation and expectation. Some of the sub-themes for the nurses and patients were physical privacy, not sharing personal information, using screens or curtains, using aprons or sheets, insufficient number of nurses or excessive number of patients, and lack of inspection and equipment. The results show that hospital administrations should make arrangements to protect patient privacy in ICUs.