Feelings of Powerlessness in Critically Ill Patients with Cardiac Diseases

Background: Acutely ill patients, more than any other patients, are at increased risk of perceiving powerlessness because they lack control over their immediate situation and are uncertain regarding their prognoses. Despite the seriousness of the problem of powerlessness, it tends to be ignored. No studies were found in the literature assessing feelings of powerlessness in acutely ill patients.   The aim of the study: was to assess feelings of powerlessness in critically ill patients with cardiac diseases. Materials and Method: Research Design: A descriptive exploratory research design was utilized to accomplish this study. Setting: This study was carried out in three ICUs at Damanhour Medical Institute. Subjects: A purposive sample of 125 adult, conscious cardiac patients was recruited for the current study. Instrument: A patient's powerlessness assessment questionnaire was used to collect data. It is composed of two parts.  Part I: demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. Part II was the adapted powerlessness assessment tool for adult patients. Method: Patients were interviewed individually, and the researchers recorded the patients’ responses using the adapted powerlessness assessment tool for adult patients. Results: the total mean percent score of powerlessness in the studied patients was 58.83%. Only 15.2% of the studied patients did not have a perceived powerlessness. The highly statistically percent of the studied patients (46.4%) reported mild powerlessness. There were significant correlations between powerlessness domains; the mean percent scores of perceived capacity to perform behavior, the perception of decision making capacity, emotional response to the control of situations, the perception of decision making and emotional response to the control of situations and the total powerlessness score (p<0.001). Conclusion: the highest percentage of the studied patients admitted to the intensive care units experienced a varied level of powerlessness, and one fifth of them had a high level of powerlessness. Regular nursing assessment of perceived powerlessness for newly admitted critically ill patients is a must.