[Needs of the family of intensive care patients: perception of the family and the professional].
OBJECTIVE
Compare the degree of family satisfaction of patients admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) with the perception of the professional on the care setting and information received.


METHODS
Prospective, descriptive study during 3 months.


METHODS
ICU of the University Hospital Insular of the Canary Islands.


METHODS
Family of adult patients admitted to the ICU who were discharged to the ward and the professionals who treated them.


METHODS
Personal survey to direct family members of the patients when they are in the ward. The same survey, but modified for the professional, was used on the perception that they believed the family had. VARIABLES OF PRINCIPAL INTEREST: Demographic data of the patient, family, and professional interviewed were collected and they were asked questions on the environmental conditions, relationship and quality of the information by the staff and the organization of the visits.


RESULTS
A total of 52 family members and 69 staff members were interviewed. The professional overestimated the needs of the family members in regards to noise, lighting, comfort, privacy, adequacy of the waiting room and information on the care received. The professional, on contrary to the family, thought that they were adequately informed about the apparatuses used and that they knew the name of the nurse. Both groups coincided that they knew the name of the doctors, that they were informed of the situation on admission, that the visiting hours were adequate, that more than 2 family members could go into the box and that they were more comfortable if they could be sitting down.


CONCLUSIONS
Satisfaction of the family was greater than that of the professional interviewed. We stress the need to improve the waiting room, personalized care and the need to individually evaluate flexibility in the visiting hours.
Santana Cabrera
L
L
Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario Insular de Gran Canaria, Avenida Marítima s/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. lsancabx@gobiernodecanarias.org
Sánchez Palacios
M
M
Hernández Medina
E
E
García Martul
M
M
Eugenio Ronaina
P
P
Villanueva Ortiz
A
A
D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003422:Critical Care / Q000592:standards*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D010820:Physicians; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires