Needs of relatives of critically ill patients in an academic hospital in Chile

Abstract

Objective: To identify the importance of the needs of family members of patients in an intensive care unit (ICU).||Method: Descriptive, comparative and cross-sectional study based on a secondary data analysis of 251 relatives of ICU patients at a university hospital in Santiago, Chile. Using non-random sampling, the 'Critical Care Family Needs Inventory' was used to establish the family needs, as well as a sociodemographic questionnaire that included: age, gender, educational level, patient relationship and previous ICU experience. A descriptive statistical analysis, Student's T test and ANOVA were performed.||Results: The most important family needs related to the dimensions of 'security' (mean = 3.90) and 'information' (mean = 3.76), while those of minor importance with 'support' (mean = 3.09). In the latter, differences were observed at an older age (P<.05), an educational level (P<.001) and relationship with the patient (P<.05).||Conclusions: The most relevant needs for family members in the ICU are related to safety and information. Less important needs are influenced by certain sociodemographic variables. Identifying the degree of importance of family needs will allow the health team to improve its relationship with families in ICUs. (C) 2017 Sociedad Espanola de Enfermeria Intensiva y Unidades Coronarias (SEEIUC). Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.