The influence of social comparison orientation and family function on relocation stress in families of patients transferred from ICU

Abstract

Objective To explore the relocation stress in families of patients transferred from ICU, and the influence of social comparison orientation and family function on it. Methods There were 168 participants recruited from Critical Medical Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University by convenience sampling method between June 2017 and February 2018. The ICU patients′ Family Relocation Stress Scale, Chinese version of the Iowa-Netherland Social Comparison Orientation Measure and Family Adaptation and Cohesion Evaluation Scale Ⅱ were used. Results The score of relocation stress and social comparison orientation were 58.47±7.66 and 37.83±9.11. The score of family real cohesion was 65.85±7.83, which was higher than norms (t=-2.067, P<0.05). The score of dissatisfaction of adaptation was 9.22±4.41, which was higher than norms (t=-3.093, P<0.05). The results of regression analysis showed that the time of patient staying in ICU, education level, religion, social comparison orientation, family real cohesion and dissatisfaction of adaptation could influence relocation stress. Conclusion Health professionals should pay attention to the relocation stress in families, provide emotional support and effective information support, guide family members to correctly understand the patients′ condition and prognosis, respect their religious beliefs, give full play to their family functions, help them adapt to the role changes quickly and reduce the level of relocation stress. Key words: Families of patients transferred from ICU; Relocation stress; Social comparison orientation; Family cohesion; Family adaptation