Supporting families in the ICU: a descriptive correlational study of informational support, anxiety, and satisfaction with care

Abstract

Background: Informational support to family members of ICU patients has significant potential for reducing their psychological distress, enabling them to better cope and support the patient.

Objectives: To describe family member perception of informational support, anxiety, satisfaction with care, and their interrelationships, to guide further refinement of a local informational support initiative and its eventual evaluation.

Methodology/design: This cross-sectional descriptive correlational pilot study collected data from a convenience sample of 29 family members using self-report questionnaires.

Setting: 22-bed medical-surgical intensive care unit of a 659-bed university affiliated teaching hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Results: Mean informational support, assessed with a modified version of the CCFNI (Molter and Leske, 1983), was 55.41(SD=13.28; theoretical range of 20-80). Mean anxiety, assessed with the State Anxiety Scale (Spielberger et al., 1983) was 45.41 (SD=15.27; theoretical range of 20-80). Mean satisfaction with care, assessed using Androfact (Version 4.0, 2001), was 83.09 (SD=15.49; theoretical range of 24-96). A significant positive correlation was found between informational support and satisfaction with care (r=0.741, p<.001). No significant relationships were noted between informational support and anxiety nor between satisfaction with care and anxiety.

Conclusion: Findings are related to the ultimate objectives of refining a local informational support initiative and its eventual evaluation, and in so doing, are of more widespread interest to others striving to make evidence based improvements to the care of similar populations.