Current Trends and Practices of Intensive Care Unit Visitations

Few topics have existed for decades and created as much of a debate as when discussing appropriate visitation policies for patients. Studies have continued to document the conflicted opinions of nurses to commit to fully open visiting hours for various reasons. Family members are very definite in their desire to be at their loved one's bedside.

To review the visiting policies of acute care hospitals in California and compare them to the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses recommendations.

This descriptive study collected data from California acute care hospital websites about critical care visiting hours to assess visiting hours and the type, age, and number of visitors.

Review of 363 hospital websites demonstrated a wide variation in policies when listed. Those that did post their visitation rules had no consistent policies regarding visiting hours or age, relationship, or number of visitors.

Hospital visitation policies in California are inconsistent and not evenly enforced. They do not reflect current evidence and practice guidelines.

Ethics require the nurses to advocate for their patient. In this role, nurses need to become proactive in implementing policy changes in their institution based on current evidence and practice guidelines.