Family perspectives on facilitators and barriers to the set up and conduct of virtual visiting in intensive care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative interview study.
Louise Rose, Tanya Graham, Andreas Xyrichis and 5 others
PMID 35672211WHAT IT FOUND
Families found virtual intensive care visits the next best thing to being there, easing separation by seeing their relative alive and including other family members.
Poorly prepared calls, restricted access, and poor camera angles made visits stressful.
Key findings
01Families described virtual visits as the next best thing to in-person visits, giving comfort by seeing their relative alive.
02Restricting virtual visits to one next of kin caused conflict and stress for other family members.
03Families valued preparation before the call, an agreed visit time, and a staff member present to support communication with an intubated relative.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was 41 English-speaking family members in the United Kingdom, so experiences may not transfer to other languages or settings. Only one virtual visiting platform was studied. Families who never received a virtual visit were not included. Males were underrepresented. Researcher bias in interpretation was possible, although the team used a mixed clinical and non-clinical analysis approach. Findings are themes from interviews, not measured effects.
Declared interests
LR and JM are co-founders of Life Lines, a philanthropic project that supplied tablets and the virtual visiting platform used in the study. They report no financial or commercial interest. Major donors include Google, True Colours and the Gatsby Trust; British Telecom gave in-kind time and resources.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that virtual visiting improves family wellbeing or patient care. The study reports what 41 families said about one United Kingdom platform, not a tested intervention.