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Intensive Care Med (2013) 39:10711079DOI 10.1007/s00134-013-2862-7 ORIGINAL
Family satisfaction in the intensive care unit: a quantitative and qualitative analysis
Daniel Schwarzkopf Susanne Behrend Helga Skupin Isabella Westermann Niels C. Riedemann Rdiger Pfeifer Albrecht Gnther Otto W. Witte Konrad Reinhart Christiane S. Hartog
Results: Participants were 215 family members visiting adult intensive care patients with length of stay over 48 h. Response rate was 28 %. Respondents were highly satised; summary scores were 78.3 14.3 [mean standard deviation (SD)] on a scale of 0 (poor) to 100 (excellent). Regression analysis failed to identify association with patient- or family-related factors. The following themes for possible improvement emerged from both quantitative and qualitative analyses: patient agitationconsistency, clarity and completeness of informationemotional support respect and compassion towards families. Families were also dissatised with the waiting room, ICU atmosphere, and amenities for visiting relatives. Conclusions: Families report high satisfaction with intensive care. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement, in particular regarding how ICU staff communicate with families and provide emotional support.
Keywords Family satisfaction
Quality Communication
Critical care Qualitative study
Received: 11 September 2012 Accepted: 27 January 2013Published online: 16 February 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and
ESICM 2013
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identier NCT01449734.
Daniel Schwarzkopf and Susanne Behrend contributed equally to this work.
Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00134-013-2862-7
Web End =10.1007/s00134-013-2862-7 ) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
D. Schwarzkopf H. Skupin
K. Reinhart C. S. Hartog
Integrated Research and Treatment Center, Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
S. Behrend H. Skupin I. Westermann
N. C. Riedemann K. Reinhart
C. S. Hartog ())
Department for Anesthesiologyand Intensive Care Medicine and Integrated Research and Treatment Center,Center for Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC), Jena University Hospital, Erlanger Allee 101,07743 Jena, Germanye-mail: [email protected]
Tel.: ?49-364-19323171 Fax: ?49-364-19323102
R. PfeiferDepartment for Internal Medicine I, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
A. Gnther O. W. Witte
Department for Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
Abstract Purpose: To assess family satisfaction in the intensive care unit (ICU) and areas for improvement using quantitative and qualitative analyses. Methods: Prospective cohort study performed in four (mixed surgical, neurological, and cardiological) intensive care units of a university hospital in Germany, using a translated and validated version of...