English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Introduction. Visits to patients are part of a positive and effective strategy of helping patients and their families to better adapt to the stress caused by a patient’s admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Aim. To determine the ICU nurses’ perception of visits to patients. Methods. The study was conducted at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb (UHC). The cross-sectional study included nurses who work in ICUs. An anonymous, self-designed questionnaire was used and filled in by 44 respondents. The questionnaire consisted of 17 closed-ended questions pertaining to demographic data, questions related to information on visits and questions about the concept of open visits. Results. Out of the total number of 44 respondents, 25 respondents stated that their ICU has booklets about the manner of visits and visiting hours, and that they hand them out to families, while 19 respondents stated that they do not have such booklets. 61% of the respondents feel they have sufficient training to communicate with the patient’s family. 41% of the respondents said that the visits had a positive effect on the patient’s condition and only 2% stated that the visits had no positive effect. 57 % of the respondents think that visits sometimes have a positive effect on the patient’s condition. Of the total number of respondents, 84% feel that visiting hours should be limited. Respondents feel that visits sometimes impede them in their work (66%), while 59% of the respondents feel that visits help spread infections. Out of the total number of respondents, only 32% of them stated that they were familiar with the open ICU concept. Conclusion. More than half of the respondents stated that they have a written visiting policy on ICU wards, and that they are trained to communicate with the family members of patients. Most respondents feel that visits contribute to the spread of infections and that they would limit children’s visits to the ICU. The respondents’ poor knowledge of the open ICU concept creates one of the barriers to introducing it in their wards. ICU Nurses’ Perception of Visits to Patients Croat Nurs J. 2020; 4(1): 91-101 92 Dobrinić I. et al. ICU Nurses’ Perception of Visits to Patients. Croat Nurs J. 2020; 4(1): 91-101 is centred on whether or not visiting hours should be open (unlimited) or closed (limited). It is difficult to define these terms because some ICUs claim to practice open visiting hours, i.e. they allow visitors to visit at any time, but still limit the number of visitors due to limited space (3). A flexible and open visiting policy can have a positive effect on the condition of patients and family members and can help them be more satisfied and cope with crises more easily. Some studies indicate that visits should be possible at all times (and that this is necessary), while other studies indicate that it is necessary to preserve the patients’ privacy and the dignity of their visitors (4). In the last ten years, ICUs around the world have been developing increasingly, but there are still no specific rules or a consensus on visiting policies (5). Visiting rules and policies vary from country to country and depend on culture, hospital and ICU facilities, geographical location, availability of content and technology, staff willingness to accept future changes and various routines (5). Visiting rules are set by the staff in intensive care units, and they have to balance the needs of the family, the need for patients to rest and the nurse’s obligation to provide quality health care. In addition, there are differences among healthcare providers about their comfort levels in communicating with families. For example, those who feel more comfortable working with families may favour open visits, while those who do not feel comfortable want a stricter visiting policy. To create the best visiting policy, implementing a multidisciplinary strategy can help improve the quality of health care and patient satisfaction through collaboration between teams and, most importantly, involvement of the patient and his or her family in the implementation and planning of a new visiting policy. Patient priorities for visits vary depending on age, disease-related characteristics, type of ICU, sustainable or unsustainable hemodynamic condition, whether the patient is intubated and differences between the needs of men and women. Although patients prefer the open concept of visits, they sometimes want limited visits, especially when family dynamics are not welcome. In this case, instead of applying a general visit scheme and strategy, certain personal restrictions can be put into place prior to the visitor’s arrival (4). Introduction According to the Law on the Protection of Patients’ Rights, the Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia Narodne Novine, 169/2004, 37/08, Article 2, every patient is guaranteed a general and equal right to quality and continuous health care, appropriate to their state of health, in accordance with generally accepted professional standards and ethical principles, in the best interest of the patient, and respecting their personal views (1). The protection of patients’ rights is implemented according to the principles of humanity and accessibility. The principle of humanity in the protection of patients’ rights is achieved by ensuring that the patient is respected as a human being, by securing the patient’s right to physical and mental integrity, by protecting the patient’s personality, including respecting their privacy and worldview, as well as moral and religious beliefs. The principle of availability in the protection of patients’ rights implies an equal opportunity to protect the rights of all patients (1). Patients’ rights are: • the right to co-determination, • the right to information, • the right to refuse information, • the right to accept or reject an individual diagnostic or therapeutic procedure, • the right to access medical records, • the right to confidentiality, • the right to maintain personal contacts, • the right to arbitrarily leave the health care facility, • the right to privacy, • the right to compensation for damages. During their hospital stay, patients have the right to receive visitors in accordance with the rules of the medical institution, as well as the right to prohibit visits to a specific person or persons (2).