ABSTRACT
To promote quality of life to intensive care unit (ICU) patients, treatments need and must be humanized, in that we are committed to preventing, caring, protecting, and recovering; that is, to promote health. Physical therapists play a fundamental role in the rehabilitation of ICU patients. Not only must they strive for technical quality but also for quality in the relationships involving the care they provide, in order to be viewed as reliable by patients and to be aware of their needs. The aim of this study was to verify whether the physical therapy care in an intensive care unit is conducted in a humanized way. This is a cross-sectional cohort study that used patient interviews via evaluation questionnaires and included 60 subjects over 18 years of age which had been discharged from the adult ICU. The interviewed patients approved the procedures carried out by the physical therapists and stressed their concern while conducting these procedures in way to keep their patients from experiencing discomfort. They were also satisfied with the treatment dimensions, with dignity, communication, reliability, interpersonal aspects, and receptivity reaching 100% of positive answers; assurance reaching 98.3%; empathy, 96.7%; and autonomy and effectiveness aspects, 95% of answers favoring humanization. The patients were shown to be satisfied, in the various aspects analyzed, with the care provided by the physical therapists, who must strive to carry out humanized professional practices. WE concluded that the physical therapy treatments the ICU patients received were characterized as humanized by them. The physical therapists demonstrated their concern with ethics, and this enabled good quality care.
Keywords:
Intensive Care Units; Humanization of Assistance; Physical Therapy