Critical care nurses' role with families: a descriptive study

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Critical Care
• Family Support

Background:

• Families of critically ill patients require significant emotional and psychosocial support.
• The role of critical care nurses in supporting these families is crucial but complex.
• Variations in hospital policies and nurse perceptions can impact family care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore critical care nurses' perspectives on the families of critically ill patients.
• To understand nurses' experiences with family visiting policies and their involvement with families.
• To identify factors influencing nurses' engagement with families in critical care settings.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive study design.
• Survey administered to 226 critical care nurses across four hospitals.
• Data collected on visiting policies, nurse involvement, and perceived knowledge gaps.

Main Results:

• Significant variation observed in the interpretation and enforcement of family visiting policies.
• Nurses generally agreed on a supportive, nonparticipative role for families.
• Over 75% of nurses provided emotional support, yet over a third felt inadequately prepared.
• Patient's impending death and nurse's personal feelings influenced nurse-family interactions.

Conclusions:

• Critical care nurses play a vital role in supporting families, but require enhanced training for psychosocial needs.
• Standardization of family visiting policies could improve care consistency.
• Nurse's subjective feelings and patient's prognosis significantly impact family engagement.