A description of healthcare providers’ perceptions of the needs of significant others in intensive care units in Norway and Sweden

Abstract

Healthcare providers (registered nurses, physicians and enrolled nurses) at intensive care units (ICU) in Norway and Sweden participated in a survey, the purpose of which was to investigate their perceptions of the needs of critically ill adult patients' significant others based on the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI). Four categories were revealed through qualitative content analysis of handwritten responses to the open ended item. 'The need to feel trust in the healthcare providers' ability' and 'the need for ICU and other hospital resources' had the highest response frequency and, together with the category 'the need to be prepared for the consequences of critical illness', confirmed factors revealed in previous statistical analysis that employed this structured tool. The fourth category concerned 'patients' needs and reactions in relation to significant others'. In conclusion, needs not previously explored when examining the CCFNI, but perceived by healthcare providers to be important to significant others in ICUs, were revealed by means of quantitative and qualitative analyses employing the instrument. These findings can contribute to the development of interventions that could be tested to evaluate whether they improve the ICU experiences of patients and their significant others.