Krista Wetzig1, Marion Mitchell2. 1. Intensive Care Unit, Princess Alexandra Hospital, 4102, Brisbane, Woolloongabba, Australia. Electronic address: ankwetzig@gmail.com. 2. Intensive Care Unit, Princess Alexandra Hospital, 4102, Brisbane, Woolloongabba, Australia; NHMRC Griffith University, Centre for Research Excellence in Nursing, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: marion.mitchell@griffith.edu.au.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The sudden, devastating, nature of traumatic injuries has a profound effect on patients and their families. When family needs are appropriately met in the intensive care units (ICU), families are empowered to support their injured relative (Blom et al., 2013). While the needs of families of general ICU patients have been examined the needs of trauma patients' families are not known and may be unique. AIM: The authors aimed to answer the question: "What are the needs of families of the adult ICU trauma patient?" METHOD: An integrative review methodology was used. RESULTS: Sixteen publications were included from 'traumatic brain injury' and 'burns' trauma subgroups. The themes of 'information'; 'making sense'; 'hope'; 'support'; 'involvement' and 'protection' were identified from the literature. 'Protection' was unique to trauma families, while the other themes concurred with those previously reported for general ICU families. This review was constrained by the lack of focused trauma patients' families' research, and was reliant on traumatic brain injury and burns subgroup studies. How the needs of these subgroups relate to other trauma patients' families is not known, and worthy of further research.
BACKGROUND: The sudden, devastating, nature of traumatic injuries has a profound effect on patients and their families. When family needs are appropriately met in the intensive care units (ICU), families are empowered to support their injured relative (Blom et al., 2013). While the needs of families of general ICU patients have been examined the needs of traumapatients' families are not known and may be unique. AIM: The authors aimed to answer the question: "What are the needs of families of the adult ICU traumapatient?" METHOD: An integrative review methodology was used. RESULTS: Sixteen publications were included from 'traumatic brain injury' and 'burns' trauma subgroups. The themes of 'information'; 'making sense'; 'hope'; 'support'; 'involvement' and 'protection' were identified from the literature. 'Protection' was unique to trauma families, while the other themes concurred with those previously reported for general ICU families. This review was constrained by the lack of focused traumapatients' families' research, and was reliant on traumatic brain injury and burns subgroup studies. How the needs of these subgroups relate to other traumapatients' families is not known, and worthy of further research.