Nurses' Role in Transitional Care During Intensive Care Unit Family Meetings for Patients With Prolonged Mechanical...

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Nursing
• Transitional Care
• Family-Centered Care

Background:

• Transitional care planning is crucial for patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV).
• Intensive care unit (ICU) family meetings are key forums for discussing patient care transitions.
• The specific roles nurses play in these meetings require further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the roles nurses undertake in transitional care planning during ICU family meetings.
• To analyze nurse engagement in family meetings for patients with PMV.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive study utilizing secondary data.
• Analysis of 19 unstructured ICU family meeting transcripts using directed content analysis.
• Purposive sampling from a larger trial focused on a PMV decision aid.

Main Results:

• Nurses actively participated in 25% of analyzed ICU family meetings.
• Identified nurse roles included: transitional care liaisons, information/communication facilitators, and family support providers.
• Specific nurse activities encompassed care coordination, education, emotional support, and advocacy.

Conclusions:

• Nurses engage in a minority of ICU family meetings concerning transitional care planning.
• Enhanced nursing involvement can improve care coordination and family support during transitions.
• Consistent nurse engagement supports transitional care planning and family-centered care for PMV patients.