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. 2025 Aug 10;13(1):890.
doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03158-1.

Lived experiences of COVID-19 survivors admitted to the respiratory intensive care unit (RICU): phenomenological study in Southern Iran

Esmaeil Barkhori Mehni  1 , Foozieh Rafati  2 , Mohsen Abbasi  1 , Shideh Rafati  3 , Sudabeh Ahmadidarrehsima  4
Affiliations

Lived experiences of COVID-19 survivors admitted to the respiratory intensive care unit (RICU): phenomenological study in Southern Iran

Esmaeil Barkhori Mehni et al. BMC Psychol. .

Abstract

COVID-19 is still spreading around the world. To this end, the present study sought to explore the experiences of COVID-19 survivors with a history of admission to ICUs in southern Iran. This study was conducted using descriptive phenomenology on twelve COVID-19 survivors with a history of admission to the ICU. The patients were selected using purposive sampling. The data were collected through face-to-face semistructured interviews with the patients. The collected data were analyzed using the seven steps of Colaizzi analysis. Data analysis revealed 3 main themes: better resources and facilities, unpleasant physical and psychological experiences, and pain relievers. COVID-19 survivors who were admitted to the RICU reported that they had many positive and negative experiences. Thus, health officials, experts, nurses, and physicians need to pay special attention to the problems faced by COVID-19 patients admitted to ICUs.

Keywords: COVID-19; Experiences; ICU; Patients; Survivors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Jiroft University of Medical Sciences (IR.JMU.REC.1400.084). The participants were assured of the confidentiality of their information and the right to withdraw from the study. Moreover, oral consent was obtained from all participants. In addition, if the recall of the information related to admission to the ICU caused extreme discomfort and emotions in the patient, the patient could see a psychologist for free. Permission was obtained from the hospital officials to conduct the study. Consent for publication: Witten informed consent for publication was obtained from all participants. The copy of participants’ consent for publication is available for review by Editor-in-Chief of this journal. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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