Emotional support to the family of the critically ill patient: Nursing interventions

Abstract

Background: It is argued that patients’ family should be included into the nursing care plan, not only as a partner but also as a recipient of care. However the severity and emergency of situations in the context of critical care, lead nurses to focus on technological aspects of care somehow disregarding human and family care. Objective: To identify the emotional needs of critical patients’ family as well as nursing interventions responding to those needs. Methodology: An integrative literature review was performed in Science Direct and EBSCO search engines considering PICo structure (Population, Interest, Context). Six papers matched the search criteria. Results: Family needs to be given clear and honest information, to set a relationship based on proximity and trust with professional caregivers, to express their feelings and to nourish a realistic trust. Conclusion: Even if some form of consensus was found between different authors, the limited number of retrieved papers point out the need for further research.