Understanding patients' experiences of being mechanically ventilated in the Intensive Care Unit: Findings from a meta-synthesis and meta-summary.

Findings suggest the need for improvements at the nursing, unit, educational and policy levels; furthermore, more research is also required at the international levels given the current trends towards no sedation protocols for the management of ICU patients: listening to their experiences becomes imperative, in order to ensure an awake, comfortable and ventilator-tolerant patient.