Caring for family members in the icu: Challenges faced by nurses in the interpersonal praxis of user embracement

Abstract

The objective of this study was to understand the interpersonal process of embracement between nurses and family members in an adult ICU. It is exploratory, descriptive and observational study, with a qualitative approach, conducted among ten nurses working in an adult ICU, selected using non-probabilistic sampling and established by data saturation, based on three data collection techniques: theme-drawing-text, semistructured interviews and non-participant observation. The analysis, based on Peplau’s Theory of Interpersonal Relations and from a tridimensional focus, identified: reason, emotion and volition, that the embracement provided to families manifested certain shortcomings related to the communication process, the development of autonomy for discharge and the interpersonal relationship between nurses and the family. The nurses’ concepts in relation to user embracement were positive, demonstrating their willingness to provide it, although they encounter formational and experiential difficulties in putting this nursing theory into practice, insofar as interpersonal relationships and, consequently, in the embracement of families.