Nurses’ perspectives of families ‘needs of the maternal critically ill cases in woman health hospital: an educational program

Abstract

Introduction: Meeting the family needs of patients in intensive care units is challenging for healthcare providers. The critical illness of one family member affects the wellbeing of other family members, causing changes in the life of the whole family. This study aimed to assess nurses' perspectives of the family needs of the critically ill maternal patient and to provide an educational program to nurses about these family needs. Methods: A Pre-posttest design was used. The study was conducted in the obstetric intensive care unit at Women's Health Hospital at Assiut University Hospital, Egypt. A convenient sample of 28 was recruited from the total 35 female nurses of the Women’s Health Hospital’s ICU.Results: There was a significant relationship between the sociodemographic items and family needs at P=0.00. There was also a statistically significant relationship between support needs, working hours, and years of experience at P<0.03 and P<0.01, respectively. There was a significant difference in the pre-post application of an educational program in all family needs items (P=0.000). Conclusions: The educational program improved nurses' perspectives and awareness toward family needs. A regular educational program should be conducted in all intensive care units to improve the understanding and management of patients’ needs, especially in an African context.