Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 28, 2025

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
Enhancing Communication With Family Members in the Intensive Care Unit: A Mixed-Methods Study
Karen-Leigh Edward1, Alessandra Galletti2, Minh Huynh3
1Karen-leigh Edward is an adjunct professor of nursing and practice-based research, Department of Health Professions, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Swinburne University, Hawthorn, Australia.
Background:
Nurses in the intensive care unit are central to clinical care delivery and are often the staff members most accessible to family members for communication. Family members' ratings of satisfaction with the intensive care unit admission are affected more by communication quality than by the level of care for the patient. Family members may feel that communication in the intensive care unit is inconsistent.
Objectives:
To use a shared decision-making model to deliver a communication education program for intensive care unit nurses, evaluate the confidence levels of nurses who undertook the education, and examine changes in family members' satisfaction with communication from intensive care unit nurses after the nurses received the education.
Methods:
A mixed-methods design was used. Seventeen nurses and 81 family members participated.
Results:
Staff members were overall very confident with communicating with family members of critically ill patients. This finding was likely linked to staff members' experience in the position, with 88% of nurses having more than 11 years' experience. Family members were happy with care but dissatisfied with the environment.
Conclusions:
Environmental factors can negatively affect communication with family members in the intensive care unit.
More Related Videos
06:16Involving Individuals with Developmental Language Disorder and Their Parents/Carers in Research Priority Setting
Published on: June 6, 2020
11:50Clinical Practice Protocol of Creative Music Therapy for Preterm Infants and Their Parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Published on: January 7, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Techniques of Therapeutic Communication II: Focusing, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
This therapeutic technique can also be used when a patient brings up pertinent information during a health-related conversation. The...
Role of Communication in the Nursing Process II: Planning and Implementation
Levels of Communication I: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Small Group
We can participate in these relationships through verbal, nonverbal, and mediated communication. We engage in verbal communication when we use words during our interaction to convey specific meanings. On the other hand, nonverbal communication refers to various factors that can impact how we understand each other—for example, facial expressions.
We interact with others using mediated technologies like the...
Communication
Barriers to Effective Communication II
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...