title: Resuscitation team perceptions of family presence during CPR.
abstract: The literature supports family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and its many perceived benefits for patients and their families. It also suggests that, overall, health care professionals are supportive of this practice. There have not been any published studies to date that have looked at the perception of family presence from the multidisciplinary resuscitation or code team's perspective. The purpose of this study was to describe the multidisciplinary care provider's understanding and perceived barriers of family presence during CPR in an academic medical center. This study is a quantitative, exploratory, descriptive study that utilized survey methodology. The sample included all members of an urban academic medical center's resuscitation response team. The study findings reveal that, overall, code team members feel that family members should be allowed to remain at the bedside during CPR but that challenges exist including education deficits and mixed feelings that may result from family presence; the study participants caring for neonates and children were more favorable to family presence during CPR than their adult counterparts. Barriers remain related to family presence during resuscitation. Education is needed for all members of the health care team to facilitate collaborative changes in resuscitation practices. Education should include information regarding institutional policies, methods for incorporating family members into the code process, and interventions to support the psychosocial needs of family members.
authors.affiliation: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
authors.forename: Kathleen Evanovich
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Zavotsky
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.forename: Ginette
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haussman
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Joiner
authors.forename: Kelly Keefe
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Marcoux
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Magarelli
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mahoney
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maldonado
authors.forename: Kari A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Mastro
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Milloria
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Tamburri
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tortajada
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires