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Background: Virtual communication has become common practice during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic because of visitation restrictions. Aims: The authors aimed to evaluate overall family satisfaction with the intensive care unit (FS‐ICU) care involving virtual communication strategies during the COVID‐19 pandemic period. Methods: In this prospective multicentre study involving three metropolitan hospitals in Melbourne, Australia, the next of kin (NOK) of all eligible ICU patients between 1 July 2020 and 31 October 2020 were requested to complete an adapted version of the FS‐ICU 24‐questionnaire. Group comparisons were analysed and calculated for family satisfaction scores: ICU/care (satisfaction with care), FS‐ICU/dm (satisfaction with information/decision‐making) and FS‐ICU/total (overall satisfaction with the ICU). The essential predictors that influence family satisfaction were identified using quantitative and qualitative analyses. Results: Seventy‐three of the 227 patients' NOK who initially agreed completed the FS‐ICU questionnaire (response rate 32.2%). The mean FS‐ICU/total was 63.9 (standard deviation [SD], 30.8). The mean score for satisfaction with FS‐ICU/dm was lower than the FS‐ICU/care (62.1 [SD, 30.3) vs 65.4 (SD, 31.4); P < 0.001]. There was no difference in mean FS‐ICU/total scores between survivors (n = 65; 89%) and non‐survivors (n = 8, 11%). Higher patient Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III score, female NOK and the patient dying in the ICU were independent predictors for FS‐ICU/total score, while a telephone call at least once a day by an ICU doctor was related to family satisfaction for FS‐ICU/dm. Conclusions: There was low overall family satisfaction with ICU care and virtual communication strategies adopted during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Efforts should be targeted for improving factors with virtual communication that cause low family satisfaction during the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]