Family Members' Experiences of Weaning From Mechanical Ventilation in Intensive Care: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study.

The sample was small and purposive, with eight family members, and most were female, so the findings may not transfer to other families or settings. Only family members who visited the ICU were included, which may miss the experience of families who did not visit or could not visit. Data collection was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the intended inclusion of more men was not achieved. The study took place in a seven-bed mixed ICU in Sweden with no visiting-hour restrictions and a nurse-patient ratio of 1:1.4, so other ICU cultures may differ. Two participants provided diary notes only, not interviews, so the evidence base is uneven. The patients themselves were not included, so the study does not show how patients experienced weaning or whether family involvement affected patient outcomes. All patients were successfully weaned and survived, so the findings do not cover families when weaning fails or the patient dies. This is a qualitative experience study, not a test of whether any nursing practice improves weaning or recovery.

The study was supported by grants from Futurum, the Academy for Health Care, Region Jönköping County, Sweden. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude that family involvement during weaning improves patient recovery or makes weaning safer. The study reports the experiences of eight family members in a Swedish ICU and does not measure patient outcomes or test a nursing intervention.