The Effect of Bed Bath Given to Intensive Care Unit Patients With Auditory Hypnosis on Physiological and Comfort Parameters: a Randomized Controlled Experimental Study

Intensive care units (ICU) are specialized units where complex life-saving treatment and care activities are performed. Due to the treatment interventions applied in these special units, a large number of tools/equipment/devices/cables (intubation tube, monitor cables, hemodialysis device, mechanical ventilation, etc.) are placed in critically ill patients. These treatment equipments restrict the movement of patients and hinder the independent fulfillment of the most basic human needs such as personal hygiene. One of the most common individual hygiene practices in ICUs is bed bathing. At the same time, in addition to the beneficial effects of bed bathing such as preventing infection, accelerating blood circulation, providing comfort and relaxation, etc., there is also a risk of negative effects on physiological parameters. Elimination or minimization of this risk is one of the primary care-giving goals of the intensive care nurse.

Considering the duties, authorities and responsibilities of intensive care nurses, ensuring the safety and comfort of the critical patient in the ICU should be the primary goal of the nurse. In this direction, some non-pharmacological applications can be utilized to prevent the risk of deterioration in the patient's physiological parameters and to increase his/her comfort during bed bathing, which is frequently applied to critically ill patients in the ICU and seen as an ordinary procedure.

One of these applications, the effects of which have been investigated on critically ill patients in ICU in recent years, is auditory suggestion. Auditory suggestion refers to verbal or auditory messages given through hearing to facilitate individuals to adopt certain thoughts, feelings or behaviors. This method includes music, verbal suggestion, nature sounds and other auditory stimuli that are thought to have the potential to influence the subconscious mind.

Recent studies have shown that auditory suggestion can play an important role in improving the physiological and psychological parameters of critically ill patients, especially in intensive care units (ICU). Clinical applications of auditory suggestion often include music therapy, white noise, nature sounds, meditation music and audio recordings with subliminal messages. Music therapy is the most common and most researched form of auditory suggestion. In the mid-20th century, music therapy began to be used as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of various psychological and neurological disorders. However, in modern medicine and psychology, the physiological effects of auditory suggestion are being taken more into account. Studies on the use of auditory suggestion, especially in intensive care units, show that this method can increase the hemodynamic stability of patients and reduce their stress levels.

With the sense of hearing, which is the last lost sense of hearing of human beings, the physiological and comfort parameters of the patients can be positively changed by the bed bath given to critically ill patients accompanied by auditory suggestion. Since patients who cannot communicate verbally have no control over themselves and their environment, it is known that talking with these patients has a therapeutic value. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of bed bath given to intensive care unit patients accompanied by auditory suggestion on physiologic and comfort parameters.