Association between needs and anxiety/depression in family of intensive care patients

When a loved one is hospitalised in the intensive care unit (ICU), the family members' attention is on the patient's condition. This can interfere with family members' own needs and affect psychological wellbeing.

To investigate the needs and stressors of family members of patients in ICU and their associations with symptoms of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 340 family members of patients admitted to the ICU of a public hospital in São Paulo state, Brazil, between January 2020 and August 2022. Data on sociodemographic characteristics were collected. The Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were administered.

Family members of patients in the ICU placed a very high level of importance on their needs (median=172). Although the family members were satisfied, not all their needs were met (median=116). In the multivariate analysis, the variables that influenced the CCFNI Importance/Satisfaction score were age (P<0.001), marital status (P<0.001), education level (P<0.001), Catholic religion (P<0.001), previous hospitalisation experience (P<0.001), and HADS depression (P=0.026/P=0.002). The variables that influenced the HADS score included female sex (P<0.001), age (P<0.001), direct relation to the patient (P<0.001), Catholic religion (P<0.001), living with the patient (P<0.001), and CCFNI Importance/Satisfaction (P<0.001).

Family members of patients in the ICU have essential, but not completely satisfied, needs. HADS was positively associated with the importance of needs and inversely related to the satisfaction of needs. Age and the Catholic religion were the only common variables affecting the variations in needs constructs.