They Can Hear the Silence: Nursing Practices on Information Sharing with Patients.

Purpose/goals: The goal is to explore diverse perspectives and practices of critical care nurses with respect to what information is being provided to patients. We will propose a strengths-based approach to communicate vital information more effectively to our patients. Session description: Information sharing is essential to nursing care, yet it is recognized as a major shortcoming. According to a study by Guttormson, Bremer, and Jones (2015), over one third of the participants reported a lack of information received by the intensive care clinicians. As a result, patients' understandings of their environment and health status are impaired. This leads to an increase in patient stress and anxiety, which can negatively affect their health outcomes (Meriläinen, Kyngäs & Ala-Kokko, 2013). Our poster will present the diverse perspectives and practices of critical care nurses with respect to what information is being provided to patients. This information will be gathered through a literature review and informal discussions with critical care nurses. In response to these findings, we will propose a strengths-based approach to communicate vital information to our patients. Learning outcomes: 1. Reflect on current practices in how they provide informational support to patients. 2. Have an increased awareness and understanding of strengths-based strategies for providing basic/vital information to patients. 3. Contribute to an ongoing, open discussion regarding nurse-patient information sharing in the intensive care unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]