Holistic Care Practices of Intensive Care Unit Nurses in Private Hospitals of Cauayan City: Foundation for Nursing Professional Development Plan

Abstract

This study assessed the holistic care practices of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses in selected private hospitals in Cauayan City and used the findings as the foundation for a nursing professional development plan. A descriptive research design was employed. The respondents were 78 conscious ICU patients or patients' significant others from three private hospitals, all included through total enumeration during the three-month data-gathering period. Data were collected using a validated and reliable 25-item questionnaire adapted from an established holistic care instrument and organized into physiological, sociocultural, psychological, spiritual, and developmental domains. Frequency and percentage described respondent profiles, mean scores determined the level of holistic care practice, and the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests examined differences across profile variables. Holistic care was highly practiced overall (M = 3.85). Physiological care obtained the highest domain mean (M = 3.94), followed by sociocultural and psychological care (both M = 3.90), developmental care (M = 3.77), and spiritual care (M = 3.74). No significant differences were found in assessments when respondents were grouped according to age, sex, case or disease, and highest educational attainment. The findings indicate that ICU nurses consistently delivered multidimensional and patient-centered care across diverse respondent groups. A professional development plan was proposed to sustain clinical and sociocultural strengths while further enhancing spiritual support, developmental education, psychological care, and evidence-based critical care competencies.