title: Factors associated with experiences and attitudes of healthcare professionals towards family-witnessed resuscitation: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine factors associated with healthcare professionals' experiences and attitudes towards adult family-witnessed resuscitation in the emergency and intensive care units.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Family-witnessed resuscitation offers the option for patients' families to be present during in-hospital resuscitation. It is important to understand healthcare professionals' views about this practice to determine why, despite its benefits and general recommendation, this practice has not been widely implemented.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 390 Finnish and Polish Registered Nurses and physicians from six university hospitals took part in the study. A structured questionnaire that examined nurses' and physicians' experiences and attitudes was used. Data, collected between July-December 2013, were analysed with descriptive statistics, logistic and multiple linear regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results indicated that healthcare professionals are not well experienced in family-witnessed resuscitation. The general attitude towards this practice is somewhat negative. Physicians seem more confident about overcoming process-related barriers than nurses. Having previous positive experiences of family-witnessed resuscitation was associated with a more positive attitude towards this practice. Consequently a previous negative experience was associated with more negative attitudes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Family-witnessed resuscitation awareness should be increased in daily clinical practice. It is important to find a way to improve experiences and attitudes of healthcare professionals related to this phenomenon. Furthermore, developing local guidelines and multidisciplinary training plans is needed to respond to the needs of patients and their families.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing Science, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sak-Dankosky
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Andruszkiewicz
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Department of Neurological Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Paula R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Sherwood
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing Science, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Tarja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kvist
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000523:psychology*; D003422:Critical Care; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011368:Professional-Family Relations
keywords: adult patient; attitudes; cardiopulmonary resuscitation; experiences; family presence; family-witnessed resuscitation; healthcare professionals; nurses; physicians