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Family participation in care to the critically ill: opinions of families and staff

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Abstract

Background

Allowing family members to participate in the care of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) may improve the quality of their experience. No previous study has investigated opinions about family participation in ICUs.

Methods

Prospective multicenter survey in 78 ICUs (1,184 beds) in France involving 2,754 ICU caregivers and 544 family members of 357 consecutive patients. We determined opinions and experience about family participation in care; comprehension (of diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment) and satisfaction (Critical Care Family Needs Inventory) scores to assess the effectiveness of information to families and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression score for family members.

Results

Among caregivers 88.2% felt that participation in care should be offered to families. Only 33.4% of family members wanted to participate in care. Independent predictors of this desire fell into three groups: patient-related (SAPS II at ICU admission, OR 0.984); ICU stay length, OR 1.021), family-related (family member age, OR 0.97/year); family not of European descent, OR 0.294); previous ICU experience in the family, OR 1.59), and those related to emotional burden and effectiveness of information provided to family members (symptoms of depression in family members, OR 1.58); more time wanted for information, OR 1.06).

Conclusions

Most ICU caregivers are willing to invite family members to participate in patient care, but most family members would decline.

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Acknowledgements

This study was carried out in the 78 ICUs listed in the Appendix. The coordinating study center was the Intensive Care Unit and Biostatistics Department of the Saint-Louis Teaching Hospital and University Paris 7, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France. These findings were presented at the congress of the French Society of Critical Care Medicine, January 2003.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service de Réanimation Médicale, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 1 Avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75010, Paris, France

    Élie Azoulay

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  1. Élie Azoulay
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  2. Frédéric Pochard
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  3. Sylvie Chevret
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  4. Charles Arich
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Consortia

the French Famirea Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Élie Azoulay.

Additional information

Supported by a grant (AOR1004) from the Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris and the Direction Régionale de la Recherche Clinique. Affiliations of the authors are listed in the Appendix

Appendix: members of the Famirea Group

Appendix: members of the Famirea Group

The following individuals and ICUs participated in the study: Christophe Adrie, Saint-Denis; Djillali Annane, Garches; Charles Arich, Nimes; Marie-Lou Baillot, Garches; Jean Pierre Bedos, Versailles; Doris Berdugo, Tenon Hospital, Paris; Gérard Bleichner, Argenteuil; Bernard Blettery, Dijon; Pierre Edouard Bollaert, Nancy; Caroline Bornstain, Saint-Louis Hospital, Paris; Yves Bouffard, Lyon; Thierry Boulain, Orléans; François Brivet, Clamart; Frédéric Brun, Auxerre; Fabienne Burnel, Arras; Jean Carlet, Saint-Joseph Hospital, Paris; Pierre-Emmanuel Charles, Dijon; Christine Cheval, Saint-Joseph Hospital, Paris; Yves Cohen, Bobigny; Madeleine Coloigner, Quimper; Françoise Delerue, Lyon; Thibaut Desmettre, Bethune; Didier Dreyfuss, Colombes; Didier Dubois, Arras; Jacques Duranteau, Le Kremlin Bicêtre; Marc Feissel, Belfort; Fabienne Fieux, Saint-Louis Hospital, Paris; Jean-Philippe Fosse, Bobigny; Gerard Fournier, Lyon; Richard Galliot, Versailles; Maité Garrouste-Orgeas, Saint-Joseph Hospital, Paris; Christophe Guitton, Nantes; Jan Hayon, Saint-Germain; Patrick Herbecq, Roubaix; Esther Iglesias, François Blot, Villejuif; Luc Marie Joly, Saint-Anne Hospital, Paris; Mercé Jourdain, Lille; Michel Kaidomar, Frejus, Saint-Raphaël; Christian Laplace, Le Kremlin Bicêtre; Jerome Larche, Nancy; Christine Lebert, La Roche sur Yon; Alain Lepape, Lyon; Nicolas Letellier, Dreux; Olivier Levavasseur, Lyon; Erwan Lher, Brest; Olivier Marie, Saint-Louis Hospital, Paris; Peter Maurer, Nancy; Serge Moulront, Dunkerque; Bernard Page, Boulogne; Antoine Parrot, Tenon Hospital, Paris; Etienne Pigne, Colombes; Bernard Pinat, Dunkerque; Juliette Pingat, Cochin Hospital, Paris; Catherine Poisson, Lens; Patricia Renault, Alençon; Anne Renault, Brest; Sylvie Riviere, Evry; Pierre-Andre Rodie-Talbere, Lille; Isabelle Runge, Orléans; Olivier Sanchez, Georges Pompidou Hospital, Paris; Dominique Selcer, Christian Crombe, Arles; Alain Sermet, Saint-Anne Hospital, Paris; Alain Tenaillon, Evry; Catherine Thouzard-Taragon, Garches; Marie Thuong, Saint-Denis; Jean-François Timsit, Bichat Hospital, Paris; Dany Goldgran-Toledano, Lariboisière Hospital, Paris; Patrick Tulasne, Illkirch; Benot Vallet, Lille; Daniel Villers, Nantes; Christophe Vinsonneau, Cochin Hospital, Paris; Jean-Ralph Zahar, Créteil

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Azoulay, É., Pochard, F., Chevret, S. et al. Family participation in care to the critically ill: opinions of families and staff. Intensive Care Med 29, 1498–1504 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-003-1904-y

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