The psychosocial needs of families during critical illness: comparison of nurses’ and family members’ perspectives

Objective: To explore the needs of relatives whose family member is unexpectedly admitted to an Intensive Care Unit and compare ranked need statements between family members and nurses. Design: This is a descriptive study using the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI) to measure, rank and compare a series of need statements. Setting: An Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in regional Victoria, Australia. Subjects: A convenience sampling strategy was used to acquire a total of 58 participants; 25 family members of patients unexpectedly admitted to the ICU and 33 nurses. Results: Comparative analysis of the data revealed that there were minor differences identified in the rank order of the need statements listed in the CCFNI amongst nurses and family members. A comparison with previous studies also identified minor differences in both the rank order of individual need statements and the five factor analysis categories previously established. Conclusion: The CCFNI continues to be a good diagnostic tool in family needs assessment.