Family presence on rounds: a systematic review of literature.

Family-centered care has become the new trend in the health care field that involves honoring the patient and families' perspectives and choices and supporting them in participating in care and decision making at whatever level they choose. Family presence on rounds is one of the guidelines instituted for evidence-based best practices for support of family in the delivery of patient-centered care in the intensive care unit (ICU) but identified as the least studied among all the other aspects of family-centered care in the ICU. From 1988 to 2010, only 1 research study on family presence was conducted in an adult ICU. The purpose of this article was to review research studies related to family presence on medical rounds; reviews that focus on both adults and pediatric patients in the critical and noncritical care settings are also included.