Families of patients in ICU: A Scoping review of their needs and satisfaction with care.
Pamela Scott, Patricia Thomson, Ashley Shepherd
PMID 31367391WHAT IT FOUND
Families of adult ICU patients most often reported unmet needs for information and assurance, and staff often underestimated those needs.
Some studies reported improvements in satisfaction or anxiety, but evidence varied and did not establish a single effective component.
Key findings
01The most important family needs identified were information and assurance, followed by proximity, comfort and support.
02Healthcare staff also ranked information and assurance as top needs, yet families frequently reported these needs were unmet.
03Families were generally satisfied with staff skill, competence and respect, but less satisfied with emotional support, understandable and consistent information, and coordination of care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a scoping review, so it mapped the extent of literature but did not appraise study quality. Only English-language papers were included, so relevant work in other languages may be missing. Many included studies were single-centre, descriptive, non-experimental and had small samples, limiting generalisability. Family needs and anxiety were often assessed 24 to 72 hours after ICU admission, when stress and uncertainty are intense. Study designs, populations and interventions varied widely, making comparisons difficult. Intervention studies often delivered several components together, so the effect of any single part could not be separated. Some intervention findings applied only to selected groups, such as families of patients staying longer than 11 days in ICU.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this review as proof that any ICU family communication intervention works. It mapped heterogeneous studies without quality appraisal, and intervention results were mixed: some improved satisfaction or reduced distress, while written information alone did not, and multi-component programmes cannot identify which part helped.