Table 3.

Content analysis for the concept critical care

Codes	Category	Theme
Identifying and addressing critical illness	Identification and monitoring of critical illness	Identification, monitoring and treatment of critical illness
Medical care with timely monitoring
Appropriate monitoring of critical illness
Management of critically ill patients	Treatment of critical illness
Treat critical illness
Care given to the critically ill
Services required to stabilise critical illness
Reduce the risk of death from a critical illness
Care dedicated to patients with severe illness or potentially severe condition
Managing life-threatening condition	Addressing life-threatening condition
Preventing the occurrence of life-threatening conditions
Treatment and management due to the threat of imminent deterioration
Medical care required to reduce the risk to the patient’s life
Care to sustain cardiopulmonary functions	Supporting vital functions	Vital organ support
Support the patient’s haemodynamic or cardiorespiratory status
Supportive care in critical illness to enable body’s systems to continue functioning before definitive treatment can work
Care of vital organ failure
Focus of care on supporting vital organs until improvement
Providing organ support	Organ support
Main focus on organ-supporting treatment.
Support of vital organ function, or reverse specific organ dysfunctions
Supportive care for organs that are failing
Provision of support to dysfunctional body systems
Early management for saving and maintaining life	Timely care	Initial and sustained care
Rapid and timely intervention that is administered in critical illness
From admission until the course of illness ends, either in full recovery or death	From start of critical illness until the patient is no longer critically ill
From home through to discharge from hospital
From the time of first contact with healthcare services through to stabilisation
To the point where the illness or injury is no longer acutely life-threatening
Critical care could be over days to weeks	Sustained care
Constant monitoring
Irrespective of the location of the patient within the health system	Any location	Any care of critical illness
Anywhere in the emergency or inpatient setting
Any care provided to critically ill patients	Any care provided to critically ill patients
Can be specialised care but depends on the level of resources
Usually located in an area with infrastructure to support these activities	Specific area	Specialised human and physical resources
Inside a healthcare facility, outside the emergency department
High dependency care
Care in ICU or critical care unit
A place where equipment, staff and environment is ready to save patients with life-threatening disease
Multidisciplinary care	Multidisciplinary and specialist staff
Specially trained staff
Essentially a team based and multiprofessional care
Requires the grouping of special facilities and specially trained staff
Higher level of care than is available on a general ward	High-intensity care
Minute-by-minute nursing and/or medical care
Advanced respiratory support/mechanical ventilation
Nursing 24/7
High nurse: patient ratio no lower than 1:2

ICU, intensive care unit.