What do patients rate as most important when cared for in the ICU and how often is this met? - An empowerment questionnaire survey.

Being an intensive care patient has been described as a feeling of being trapped in a life-threatening situation in which the care system assumes control over one's life. This experience is conditioned not only by the medical treatment, but also by the entire interaction with the caregivers and the environment [1]. Intensive care patients often experience dependency and powerlessness due to seriousness of illness, bodily change and weakness, together with a difficulty or inability to communicate. In this situation, spirit of life is sometimes lost. This results in the patient resigning and feeling like giving up, and death could even be experienced as an easier alternative [2]. In a synthesis of qualitative research on patient experiences of critical care, Cutler et al. [3] found that proximity to death is a commonperception of bodily illness. Care, communication and relationships with health care professionals have a positive personal meaning associated with safety and security, while bad or negative communication generates feelings of loneliness, separation and neglect. Connection anddependence on technical equipment often cause feelings of helplessness, anger and frustration, while support from family and friends is associatedwith feelings of trust and security [3]. Empowerment is a widely used concept [4,5], referring tomanaging challenges and overcoming a sense of powerlessness. In intensive care, empowerment has been found to generate a mastery over the distressing or demanding situation [6,7] and a decreased level of strain [8,9], together with an increased sense of coherence [10], increased comfort [11] and inner satisfaction [8,9]. Christensen and Hewitt-Taylor stated that the formation of amutual partnership between health care staff and patients facilitates access to comprehensible information, which is central in achieving patient empowerment in intensive care [12]. Empowerment in intensive care has been found to consist of the strengthening and stimulation of the patient's own inherent joy of life and will to fight. This could be facilitated by creating a positive environment that encourages feelings of value and motivation in which the patient feels safe, receives additional care, and has an opportunity to influence the care to the degree of