Let them See: Effects of Witnessing Resuscitation on Patients’ Loved Ones

Abstract

As part of an academic project, the question of witnessed resuscitation and its effects on onlookers was posed and investigated. During resuscitation, a patient’s friends, family or other loved ones may be present and witness the procedure. This literature review was carried out to establish whether seeing this affected their incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder, and the quality of the research around this. Following a search, four studies were identified for review. Synthesis of the data suggests that in many circumstances, patients’ family members and loved ones should be offered the opportunity to be present during resuscitation, and this could have a neutral or positive effect on their wellbeing after the event.