title: Assessing family members' satisfaction with information sharing and communication during hospital care at the end of life.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the fact that most deaths occur in hospital, problems remain with how patients and families experience care at the end of life when a death occurs in a hospital.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  (1) assess family member satisfaction with information sharing and communication, and (2) examine how satisfaction with information sharing and communication is associated with patient factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a cross-sectional survey, data were collected from family members of adult patients who died in an acute care organization. Correlation and factor analysis were conducted, and internal consistency assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Linear regression was performed to determine the relationship among patient variables and satisfaction on the Information Sharing and Communication (ISC) scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 529 questionnaires available for analysis. Following correlation analysis and the dropping of redundant and conceptually irrelevant items, seven items remained for factor analysis. One factor was identified, described as information sharing and communication, that explained 76.3% of the variance. The questionnaire demonstrated good content and reliability (Cronbach's alpha 0.96). Overall, family members were satisfied with information sharing and communication (mean total satisfaction score 3.9, SD 1.1). The ISC total score was significantly associated with patient gender, the number of days in hospital before death, and the hospital program where the patient died.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ISC scale demonstrated good content validity and reliability. The ISC scale offers acute care organizations a means to assess the quality of information sharing and communication that transpires in care at the end of life.
authors: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. k.brazil@qub.ac.uk
authors: Kevin
authors: K
authors: Brazil
authors: Cynthia
authors: C
authors: Cupido
authors: Alan
authors: A
authors: Taniguchi
authors: Michelle
authors: M
authors: Howard
authors: Noori
authors: N
authors: Akhtar-Danesh
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Frolic
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care