Search

Background: The presence of family members in an isolated ICU during an isolation disease outbreak is restricted by hospital policies because of the infectious risk. This can be overcome by conferring to family members the skill and the ability to safely don and doff the personal protective equipment (PPE) through a nurse-led training intervention and assess their satisfaction, to respond to the need to define a safe, effective and quality care pathway focused on Family-Centered Care (FCC) principles., Objective: the study aimed to build a valid and reliable instrument for clinical practice to assess family members' satisfaction to allow ICU nurses to restore family integrity in any case of infectious disease outbreak that requires isolation., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to test the psychometric properties. The questionnaire was constructed based on a literature review on the needs of family members in the ICU. 76 family members were admitted to a COVID-ICU. Cronbach's coefficient, Geomin rotated loading, and EFA were applied to assess the reliability and validity of the instrument., Results: The Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin (KMO) measure was 0.662, the Bartlett sphericity test showed a significant p-value (χ²=448.33; df=45; p < 0.01), Cronbach's alpha coefficient was.896. A further CFA analysis confirmed that all fit indices were acceptable. The results showed satisfactory validity and reliability, which could be generalized and extended to any outbreak of isolation disease., Conclusions: This study provides a valid and reliable instrument for clinical practice to maintain family integrity in the dyadic relationship between the patient and the family member, even during an emergency infectious disease outbreak that requires isolation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The author declares no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: COVID-19 patient experiences in the intensive care unit (ICU) are marked by family separation. Families understand the importance of isolation and hospital visiting policies, but they consider it necessary to visit their loved ones and use personal protective equipment., Objective: To describe the lived experiences of family members in their first contact with a relative in a COVID-ICU., Methods: A phenomenological study was conducted using Cohen's method. The subjects were interviewed using an open-question format to allow them full freedom of expression. Twelve family members were recruited between February and March 2021., Results: Analysis of the qualitative data resulted in five major themes: (1) fear of contagion related to donning/doffing procedures, (2) positive emotions related to first contact with the hospitalized relative, (3) concern for the emotional state of the hospitalized relative, (4) impact of the COVID-ICU and comparisons between imagination and reality regarding the severity of the disease, and (5) recognition of and gratitude toward healthcare professionals., Conclusions: It has been confirmed that visits to the ICU reduce anxiety among family members. Our findings constitute an internationally relevant contribution to understanding of the needs of relatives who meet loved ones for the first time while wearing personal protective equipment., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The author declares no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The family members of a patient admitted to a COVID Intensive Care Unit (COVID-ICU) could not communicate with and stay close to their loved one, which resulted in them becoming dependent on hospital staff for remote updates., Objective: To describe the lived experiences of families with a member admitted to a COVID-ICU., Methods: A phenomenological study was conducted. The subjects were interviewed with open-ended questions to allow them full freedom of expression. The researchers involved in the analysis immersed themselves in the data, independently reading and rereading the transcripts to gain a sense of the entire dataset., Results: Fourteen first-degree family members were recruited. Five main themes emerged: fear, detachment, life on standby, family-related loneliness in the COVID-ICU, and an unexpected event., Conclusions: Knowing the experience of families who have a relative in the COVID-ICU is essential for recognizing and reducing the risk of developing symptoms of post-intensive care syndrome., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The author declares no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)