Perspectives of patients and families about the nature of and reasons for call light use and staff call light response time.

The purpose of this exploratory survey study was to determine the perspectives of patients and family visitors about the reasons for and nature of patient- and family-initiated call lights, call light use, and response time to call lights. Fifty-three percent of participants (n = 63) perceived most of their call lights mattered to their safety. Participants believed answering call lights should be a priority among patient care tasks as a critical aspect of nursing staff roles.