Family caregivers’ expectations and needs in Critical Care Units

Introduction: Patient admission into the critical care unit is usually an unpleasant and unexpected life experience for the family members, and unusual for family members to cope with stress and anxiety during their hospital stay.  Purpose: This study aimed to explore the expectations and needs of family members of the patients in critical care units at two tertiary care hospitals in Islamabad. Methodology: An exploratory descriptive design was used to address the study questions. Using purposive sampling, 14 family members were individually interviewed through a semi- structured interview guide. A conventional content analysis method was used to analyze the data through which categories and sub-categories were identified. Findings: The data analysis revealed three roles of the family members, which included assistance in physical care, facilitator in the provision of treatment and the decision maker. The participants expressed that their needs for information and assurance were being met to some extent; however, their need for support and comfort were not. Although the physical facilities for meeting the comfort were available in private hospital, it did not match the family members’ expectations. Conclusion: This study revealed that despite some similarities in the role and needs, the expectations and satisfaction of the family members is linked to their awareness of the healthcare system as well as the cost of the obtained services. The suggestions of the family members are implementable to improve their experiences and satisfaction in critical care units, which can enable them to perform their roles better.