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Needs of families of critically ill patients and perception of the health care team

Introduction

The `Critical Care Family Needs Inventory' (CCFNI) has been used to identify the needs of the relatives of critically ill patients in ICUs. Few studies have compared the needs of the relatives with the perception of the health care team.

Objective

The aim of this study was to compare the perceived needs of family members of patients in the intensive care unit with those perceived by health care team using the `Critical Care Family Needs Inventory' (CCFNI).

Materials and method

The sample is composed by 72 family members of patients hospitalized in ICUs, as well as 86 members of the health care team, from 1 August to 31 December 1997. The CCFNI scale was translated into Portuguese and three questions were added. The data obtained were analyzed using the mean and the standard deviation of the answers, and the Pearson's correlation was used to compare the samples.

Results

Information and assurance were perceived as being the major needs by the relatives and the multiprofissional team. A significant correlation was found between the score obtained for both groups (r = 0.89; P < 0.001). The mean scores evaluated by the relatives were higher than those perceived by the health care team.

Conclusion

The main categories of needs were assurance and information about the real conditions of their hospitalized relatives; there is a strong correlation between the family evaluation and the perception of the health care team.

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Novaes, M., Andreoli, P., Karam, C. et al. Needs of families of critically ill patients and perception of the health care team. Crit Care 5 (Suppl 3), P77 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1186/cc1410

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/cc1410

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