Families' Experiences of Relocation and Support Needs During Intensive Care Unit Patient Transfers: A Qualitative...

Family members, an important supportive force during ICU patient transfer, must quickly adapt to treatment environment changes and assume new caregiving responsibilities. Current research focuses more on patients' treatment and experience, less on families' relocation stress experiences and needs at this stage, making it difficult to meet families' psychological adaptation and practical needs.

This study aimed to understand the relocation stresses and needs of patients' family members transferred from the ICU and provide a basis for developing coping programs and enhancing their psychological resilience.

Employing a phenomenological approach, purposively sampled, conducted in August 2024 at the general intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in Qiqihar, involved semi-structured interviews with family members within 48 h of the patient's transfer to a general ward, with data analysed by Colaizzi's seven-step method.

Through interviews with 12 family members, four themes and eight subthemes were generalised. There were dual psychological experiences (expectations and stress relief for ICU relocation, anxiety about caregiving and role adaptation stress), disease information needs (condition, treatment, care and cost information), relocation information needs (relocation process, interface with receiving department, ward environment and continuity of care points) and rehabilitation guidance needs (disease-related, basic care and nursing knowledge guidance).

Family members often experience relocation stress during ICU transfer, primarily stemming from sudden environmental changes, information gaps, communication barriers and inadequate preparation. It is recommended that healthcare providers in general wards enhance their awareness of such stressors and collaborate with ICU teams to develop structured communication programs, thereby ensuring timely information support.

This study offers valuable insights for optimising clinical care, alleviating family relocation stress, fostering inter-departmental communication and enhancing family coping skills.