Integrative and complementary practices in Intensive Care Units: An integrative review

Abstract

Objective: To synthesize the knowledge published in the literature on the use of Integrative and Complementary Health Practices in Adult Intensive Care Units. Design: An integrative literature review based on Ganong's theoretical-methodological framework. Setting: Data collection was carried out in January 2023 using the descriptors Intensive Care Units and Complementary Therapies, crossed using the Boolean operator “AND”. Twenty-five studies were selected and uploaded to Endnote Web. QDA Miner Lite software was used to assist in the analysis of the results. Main outcome measures: The inclusion criteria were: complete original articles, available online and detailing Integrative and Complementary Health Practices applied in the setting of Adult Intensive Care Units. Excluded works included: publications in conference and event annals; literature review articles; editorials; and study protocols. Results: The studies date back to 1994, mostly constituted by quantitative clinical trials. Music therapy was prevalent, presented fewer difficulties in application and greater acceptance by participants. The combination of complementary practices also proved to be effective. Conclusions: There is a growing interest in the application of Integrative and Complementary Health Practices (ICHPs) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) setting. However, more research is needed to understand the impact of each practice. Moreover, nursing is essential for the effective implementation of ICHPs.

Keywords

• Complementary therapies
• Intensive Care Unit
• Critical care
• Integral healthcare practice
• Humanization of assistance