Objective:

To determine the association between the level of uncertainty and the type of disease in patients hospitalized in intensive care units of Cartagena.

Materials and methods:

Cross-sectional observational study. The sample consisted of 72 patients to whom the Merle Mishel uncertainty scale was applied. Associations between the type of disease and uncertainty were estimated using the Kruskall Wallis nonparametric test.

Results:

The average age of the participants was 58.3 years (SD = 19.4), with a predominance of females in 54.2 %, the median length of hospital stay was 6 days. 27.8 % had cardiovascular diseases, followed by metabolic diseases in 19.4 %. The level of uncertainty was regular at 63.9 % and high at 34.7 %. Regarding the association between variables, no significant differences were found between the average scores of the scale according to the type of disease (Kruskall Wallis prob. > 0.05).

Conclusion:

The complexity of the situation, the expectations related to the commitment to health, the presentation of symptoms and the medical or surgical treatments established originated uncertainty independent of the type of disease.

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