Informing Patient Relatives in Intensive Care Units… Face to Face or by Phone?

Background: Effective communication with relatives is an essential component of family-centered intensive care. This study evaluated preferences for receiving information in intensive care units (ICUs) and examined factors associated with communication expectations and perceived adequacy of information. Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, 401 participants completed a 25-item questionnaire developed from the literature, reviewed by experts, and pilot-tested. Communication preferences and perceptions were analyzed according to age, sex, education, marital status, geographic region, employment status, healthcare background, degree of kinship, duration of ICU stay, and previous ICU experience. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify factors independently associated with considering telephone-based communication sufficient. Results: Most participants (89.8%) preferred face-to-face communication. Overall, 62.8% considered telephone-based information insufficient, and face-to-face communication was more frequently perceived as promoting trust and understanding. Communication preferences varied according to demographic, educational, regional, and experiential characteristics. Women placed greater importance on direct interpersonal communication, whereas men favored more practical information delivery. Participants with higher educational attainment reported greater expectations regarding the structure and content of information. In multivariable analysis, male sex (OR = 2.63, 95% CI: 1.40-4.93; p = 0.003), residence outside the city where the hospital was located (OR = 2.86, 95% CI: 1.49-5.46; equivalent to OR = 0.35 for residence within the hospital city; p = 0.002), and having a relative hospitalized in the ICU for 21-31 days (OR = 3.74, 95% CI: 1.42-9.86; p = 0.008) were independently associated with considering telephone-based communication sufficient. Conclusions: Face-to-face communication was the preferred method of information delivery for most relatives. Communication preferences and the perceived adequacy of telephone-based information varied according to demographic, regional, and clinical characteristics. These findings support adopting individualized communication strategies rather than a uniform approach when communicating with relatives of intensive care patients.