title: Nurses' perceptions of open visiting hours in neuroscience intensive care unit.
abstract: A quality improvement project was undertaken by Neuro-ICU nurses to determine possible effects from open visitation. From a quality improvement perspective, nurses' concerns were investigated along with their perceptions about open visitation to determine a need for visitation policy revision. Vast variability in nurses' interpretation and implementation of individualized open visitation policy suggested a need for the following: staff education about the policy and its implementation, a review of the literature to determine the validity of concerns about deleterious physiologic effects on neuroscience patients from visitation, and improved communication among nurses about visitation.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience ICU, St Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Tex, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Livesay
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gilliam
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mokracek
authors.forename: Sherly
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sebastian
authors.forename: Joanne V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Hickey
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000451:nursing*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D013781:Texas; D014789:Visitors to Patients