Table II.

Illustration of the structural analysis.

Quotes from text	Condensed meaning units	Sub-themes	Main theme
You see it in their eyes, it’s hard to explain. It’s a kind of wandering look that follows you around the room. My gut feeling tells me not to touch. (B)	You see it in their eyes, it’s hard to explain, it’s a kind of wandering look. My gut feeling tells me.	Eyes and facial expressions	The speaking body
To touch the patient can do good even though he doesn’t seem open to it and says he doesn’t have pains. You can see that the body screams out “I’m not good”. You can see the shoulders are raising. If you then put your hand on his shoulder and tell that you can see he has pains, it can be a kind of relief and he can say that “Yes, I do have pains”. (E)	Touching the patient can be good even though he says that he does not have pain. The patient’s body screams out “I’m not good” and his shoulders are raising.	Patients’ emotional expressions	The speaking body
If the response from the patient is to pull his hand back or show in other ways that he doesn’t want any contact, I try to be careful. Maybe I just touch the bed … (D)	If the patient pulls his hand back, I’m careful not to scare him. Maybe just touch the bed.	Closeness and distance	The speaking body
If you reach a goal, if you feel that the patient could manage because you are there and what you do, because you show empathy and care and touch their skin. If you feel that what you do is useful, that is a good feeling. (A)	If you feel that the patient could manage because you show empathy, care and touch, that is a good feeling.	ICU nurses’ emotional responses	The speaking body