title: Meeting information needs of families of critical care patients.
abstract: Families of patients in critical care experience extreme anxiety and frustration while awaiting their loved ones' recovery or stabilization. To study the hypothesis that meeting families' informational needs can reduce their anxiety and help them cope with the initial crisis, a small task force at a Midwest acute care facility, using a CQI approach, studied possible solutions. Initial findings showed low satisfaction for families of critically ill patients with the present system of imparting information to them. After initiation of a storyboard to present information by the critical care team, families reported increased satisfaction and greater knowledge recall.
authors.affiliation: SelectCare, Troy, MI, USA.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Barbret
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Westphal
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Daly
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003325:Coronary Care Units / Q000592:standards*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010174:Pamphlets; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011368:Professional-Family Relations