title: Psychosocial needs of families of intensive care patients: Perceptions of nurses and families.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) is not only stressful to the patients but the patients' family members. Families are believed not to receive their required attention because their needs are incorrectly and inaccurately evaluated by the health care team. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the perceptions of ICU nurses and families regarding the psychosocial needs of families of intensive care patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on a randomly selected population of 80 nurses and 80 family members of ICU patients. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire containing sociodemographic characteristics and the Critical Care Family Need Inventory (CCFNI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rank order of the five most important CCFNI item needs identified by families were as follows: "To feel that the hospital personnel care about the patient", "to be assured that the best care possible is being given to the patient", "to have questions answered honestly", "to know specific facts concerning patient's progress", and "to be called at home about changes in the patient's condition." The top five CCFNI item needs identified by nurses were in the following order: "To be assured that the best care possible is being given to the patient", "to be told about transfer plans while they are being made", "to feel that the hospital personnel care about the patient", "to have questions answered honestly", and "to know specific facts concerning patient's progress."
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study showed there are similarities and dissimilarities between nurses and family members in their perceived importance of some family needs in the ICU. It can thus be inferred from our results that the participating nurses misestimated the needs of family members, attested by their wrong estimation of the most need statements.
authors.affiliation: Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran; School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Adjunct Research Fellow, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Seyed Afshin
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shorofi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Yadollah
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jannati
authors.affiliation: Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein Roohi
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Moghaddam
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Health Sciences Research Center, School of Health Sciences, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: Jamshid
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yazdani-Charati
keywords: Family; intensive care unit; nurse; psychosocial needs