Family nursing in intensive care. Part two: The needs of a family with a member in intensive care.

Abstract

It was demonstrated in Part one that the family is a justifiable concern to nurses in intensive care and that family-focused care is appropriate in such an area. If this approach to care is to be considered, it is necessary to identify the needs of families when they have a member in an intensive care unit. This is a well-researched area and some of the relevant literature is discussed within this paper. Before this literature is addressed, an attempt is made to define the concept of need. The methodologies used in the identification of family needs could be adapted to explore whether or not the needs of the families of patients in a particular intensive care unit are being met. This paper suggests that if it was shown that the meeting of family needs was an area of care which could be improved upon, then a family-centred approach to care would be a reasonable option. If however, it is shown that families already perceived their needs as being met, then changing the system of care to a more formal family nursing approach would seem to be unnecessary.