RUBI, Dianne May M

2013-79510
Hospital confinement
Family Needs and Coping Strategies during Illness Crisis
Patricia and Koller, MSN, RN
AACN Volume 2 No. 2, May 1991, pp. 338-345

Objective: To explore family needs and coping behaviors when faced with stress of a family members critical illness
Method: Convenience sample of 30 family members of 22 critically ill patients completed the Critical Care Family
Needs Inventory and Jalowiec Coping Scale and responded to a seven-item semi-structures questionnaire
Implication of results: According to the family members, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) experience is stressful; however,
uncertainty of prognosis and the waiting were most stressful. The family needs assurance and information regarding
the condition of the patient. This exchange of information fosters the development of trust of the family members to
the care-giver. It also decreases fear and lends a sense of control to the family system. The use of social support
and prayer is important and helped them get through stressful times. On the other hand, nursing interventions, such
as provision of information, the competence and personal manner of the nurse, emotional support, and the allowance
for frequent visitation is also helpful.

Behavioral Responses of Family Members during Critical Illness

Margo A. Halm, Marita G. Titler, Charmaine Kleiber, Susan K. Johnson, Lou Ann
Montgomery, Martha J. Craft, Kaihleen Buckwalter, Anita Nicholson and Karen
Megern
Clin Nurs Res 1993 2: 414
DOI: 10.1177/105477389300200405
The online version of this article can be found at
http://cnr.sagepub.com/content/2/4/414
Objective: To describe the behavioural responses of adult family members to critical illness and how these
responses change over the course of the hospitalization
Methods: Convenience sample of 52 family members of patients in ICU completed scales measuring sleep, eating,
activity, family role, and support behaviour. Scales completed by family members each day during first week and then
weekly throughout the patients ICU stay
Implication of results: Family members reported that they slept less with a poorer quality of sleep, thus, family
members coping with a critical illness experience a decline in the amount and quality of sleep. Others reported that
they feel very tired during the critical care hospitalization. With this, members of the family experience difficulty
processing information, deal with stress, and protect own health.
In terms of eating behaviors, they eat frequently in cafeteria for breakfast and lunch. They eat dinner usually
in a restaurant. Some family members eat alone and others eat with other family members. Furthermore, there is an
increase in the amount of junk food and fast food consumption due to convenience. With this, it concludes, that the
eating behaviour of family members change when they are coping with the critical illness of a loved one.
As for the activity behaviors, driving was a frequently mentioned activity for the first 2 days of hospitalization.