title: Adaptation of family members of brain-injured patients: perceptions of the hospitalization event.
abstract: Critical illness is a crisis for the afflicted individual as well as the family. This study was part of a larger study which undertook to add depth to the understanding of the family's experience following neurotrama and to add to the body of knowledge of family-focused nursing care. The focus of this portion of the study was the family's perception of their experience during the first week of the patient's hospitilization. Informal, unstructured interviews were conducted with ten families of patients who had been in a comatose state following a head injury which had occurred within two years of the study. Interviews were analyzed using generic-type and differentiation-type analysis. The family's perceptions of the hospitalization experience included: first hearing the news, first seeing the patient, the roles of nurse and physicians, the hospital culture, the family's physical needs, their time perspective, the ambiguity of the situation, belonging to a community of sufferers and the family's expectations for the patient's recovery. The findings of this study underline the importance of nurses as supporters of these families in their adaptation to a life-threatening event.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stansfield
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000451:nursing*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007587:Job Description; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data