ABSTRACT
Critical illness and its treatment in the technologically complex setting of the intensive care unit involve multifaceted physiological, psychosocial, and technological processes and humantechnology interactions. Qualitative research can provide insights into understanding the experience of critical illness from the perspectives of patients, their family members, and clinician care providers. Qualitative research can also explicate the social and cultural context and processes of interaction during critical care treatment. This chapter illustrates the sequential use of a variety of qualitative research approaches to address questions about patient care and patient-caregiver interaction during critical illness. My program of research has been concerned with the condition or circumstance of prolonged mechanical ventilation (MV). This line of inquiry originated with questions about human-technology interaction among critically ill older adults (Happ, 1998a, 1998b, 2000a, 2000b, 2002), proceeded to investigation of the processes of care and communication during weaning from prolonged mechanical ventilation (Broyles, Colbert, Tate, Swigart, & Happ, 2008; Crighton, Coyne, Tate, Swigart, & Happ, 2008b; Happ et al., 2007a; Happ, Swigart, Tate, Hoffman, & Arnold, 2007b; Happ, Tate, Swigart, Divirgilio-Thomas, & Hoffman, 2010; Hoffman et al., 2004; Sereika et al., 2011; Tate & Happ, 2011; Tate, Devito Dabbs, Hoffman, Milbrandt, & Happ, 2012) and progressed to a mixed methods research program focused on understanding and improving communication among patients who were unable to speak during respiratory support and treatment.
