Health care providers' perceptions of family participation in essential care in the intensive care unit: A qualitative study.
Boukje M Dijkstra, Lisette Schoonhoven, Karin M Felten-Barentsz and 3 others
PMID 39431501WHAT IT FOUND
ICU providers weighed patient safety, relatives' burden and their own workload before inviting family participation.
They offered care tasks gradually, tailored to each patient and relative, and stressed teaching relatives about lines, swallowing and agitation.
Key findings
01ICU providers described family participation as a balancing act across patient interests, relatives' perspective, their own workload and unit conditions.
02Some providers invited relatives only when patients were awake or stable, and described starting with small activities such as hair, lotion, reading or movement.
03Safety concerns shaped what relatives could do, especially around lines, swallowing and agitation, and providers said relatives needed education and guidance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Findings are providers' perceptions, not patients' or relatives' views, and no patient outcomes were measured. Only three Dutch ICUs were sampled, so transferability to other settings may be limited. Two interviewers led the focus groups, which may have influenced the discussions. Only three physical therapists and one speech therapist participated, so their perspectives may not represent wider practice.
Declared interests
Funded by the Dutch Research Council; authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that family participation improves patient or relative outcomes. The study reports ICU providers' perceptions, not patients' or relatives' experiences, and it did not measure clinical outcomes.