Referral and admission to intensive care: A qualitative study of doctors' practices in a Tanzanian university hospital.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Intensive care is care for critically ill patients with potentially reversible conditions. Patient selection for intensive care should be based on potential benefit but since demand exceeds availability, rationing is needed. In Tanzania, the availability of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) is very limited and the practices for selecting patients for intensive care are not known. The aim of this study was to explore doctors' experiences and perceptions of ICU referral and admission processes in a university hospital in Tanzania. METHODS:We performed a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with fifteen doctors involved in the recent care of critically ill patients in university hospital in Tanzania. Inductive conventional content analysis was applied for the analysis of in

SUBMITTER: Engdahl Mtango S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6818781 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature