Longing for homelikeness: A hermeneutic phenomenological analysis of patients' lived experiences in recovery from COVID‐19‐associated intensive care unit acquired weakness

AIMS: To explore lived experiences of patients recovering from COVID‐19‐associated intensive care unit acquired weakness and to provide phenomenological descriptions of their recovery. DESIGN: A qualitative study following hermeneutic phenomenology. METHODS: Through purposeful sampling, 13 participants with COVID‐19‐associated intensive care unit acquired weakness were recruited with diversity in age, sex, duration of hospitalization and severity of muscle weakness. Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were conducted from 4 to 8 months after hospital discharge, between July 2020 and January 2021. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using hermeneutic phenomenological analysis. RESULTS: The analysis yielded five themes: ‘waking up in alienation’, ‘valuing human contact in isolation’, ‘making progress by being challenged’, ‘coming home but still recovering’ and ‘finding a new balance’. The phenomenological descriptions reflect a recovery process that does not follow a linear build‐up, but comes with moments of success, setbacks, trying new steps and breakthrough moments of achieving mobilizing milestones. CONCLUSION: Recovery from COVID‐19‐associated intensive care unit acquired weakness starts from a situation of alienation. Patients long for familiarity, for security and for recognition. Patients want to return to the familiar situation, back to the old, balanced, bodily self. It seems possible for patients to feel homelike again, not only by changing their outer circumstances but also by changing the understanding of themselves and finding a new balance in the altered situation. IMPACT: Muscle weakness impacts many different aspects of ICU recovery in critically ill patients with COVID‐19‐associated intensive care unit acquired weakness. Their narratives can help nurses and other healthcare professionals, both inside and outside of the intensive care unit, to empathize with patient experiences. When healthcare professionals connect to the lifeworld of patients, they will start to act and communicate differently. These insights could lead to optimized care delivery and meeting patients' needs in this pandemic or a possible next.