Family and Patient Care in Intensive Care Units

Intensive care units have traditionally been organized around clinical efficiency, but a growing body of research examines what happens when families are treated as active participants in that environment rather than visitors to be managed. Scholars in this area study how open or flexible visiting policies affect patient recovery, family stress, and the quality of nursing care, drawing on evidence from communication studies, ethics, and clinical practice. A central question is how to structure family presence during high-stakes moments such as resuscitation—where the instinct to exclude families collides with data suggesting many family members want to be present and benefit from it. Ongoing work is refining which interventions, from structured family meetings to bedside role-sharing, most reliably reduce family distress and improve the coherence of care without overburdening clinical staff.

Works

51,962

Total citations

327,857

Keywords

Family PresencePatient-Centered CareIntensive Care UnitFamily NeedsCritical CareVisiting Policies