Shock. Psychosocial needs of the patient and family

This discussion has identified psychosocial needs of the patient and family experiencing shock, a life-threatening illness. Both individuals and families represent constellations of needs, the definitions of which are dependent on situational, familial, and patient-centered variables. Life-threatening illness is a complex phenomenon wherein psychosocial needs and responses can be obscured by a rapidly unfolding clinical picture. Nursing research focusing on critically ill patients and their families has for many years described and quantified psychosocial needs as affected by the dynamics of life-threatening illness. Interventions directed toward meeting individual and family needs have been proposed, implemented, and evaluated. As health care resources become increasingly valuable commodities and as patients and their families become more sophisticated consumers of care, critical care nursing practice must continue to value psychosocial needs and demonstrate commitment to sensitive, individualized intervention. We cannot continue to write about the phenomenon of life-threatening illness without incorporating nursing knowledge into clinical practice.