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Association between comfort and needs of ICU patients’ family members: A cross‐sectional study
Author(s) -
Meneguin Silmara,
Souza Matos Ticiane Dionízio,
Miot Helio Amante,
Pollo Camila Fernandes
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/jocn.14644
Subject(s) - cross sectional study , context (archaeology) , medicine , marital status , multivariate analysis , social support , gerontology , psychology , environmental health , population , geography , social psychology , archaeology , pathology
Aims and objective To identify the family members’ level of comfort and needs and to analyse the sociodemographic/clinical variables that influence this association. Background The needs of family members are important considerations in intensive care units. In this context, the needs will be assessed in five dimensions: information, safety, proximity, support and comfort. This study describes the association between comfort and needs of ICU patients’ family members. Design Cross‐sectional study developed at the adult ICU of a hospital within the state of São Paulo, in the period from July–September 2016. Methods We used the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (INEFTI) Portuguese version and the comfort scale for critical care patient relatives (ECONF). Results In relation to INEFTI, the relatives assigned high importance to the needs (Median = 167), but not all of them satisfied (Median = 151). The comfort was low (Median = 3.6), and support was the most affected domain (Median = 2.78). The multivariate analysis indicated variables that influenced the comfort : marital status ( β = 0.80; p < 0.01), disease severity ( β = 0.03; p = 0.04), female sex ( β = 0.34; p = 0.01), highest educational attainment ( β = 0.37; p < 0.01), employment status ( β = 0.81; p < 0.01) and kinship ( β = 0.34; p < 0.01). Concerning the INEFTI scores, only age was statistically significant for importance ( β = 0.16; p < 0.01) and satisfaction ( β = −0.29; p = 0.04) of the family members’ needs. In the multiple correspondence analysis, different proximities were identified for the variables comfort and needs. Greater ECONF scores were associated with family members with a higher educational degree, whose patients were stable, who attributed high levels of importance to the needs and who were housewives. Conclusions Family members have needs that are considered important but not fully met. No direct correspondence between comfort and family needs was identified. Relevance to clinical practice In view of the lack of studies involving family members’ comfort and needs, we believe that these results can guide nursing proposals focused on the family members, in line with the associations found among different variables that influenced the results.