Family visits and their involvement in patient care in intensive care units: an integrative review

Abstract

Introduction: Admission to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is considered a stressful phenomenon, not only due to physical issues, but also due to the cognitive and social disabilities resulting from hospitalization. The family is an important element for patients admitted to the ICU and should be a concern for nurses in these units, considering the existence of benefits for both the family and the patient.

Objectives: This review aims to understand the importance of family presence for patients admitted to the ICU, and the involvement of the family/caregiver in care during hospitalization.

Material and Methods: A literature review was carried out, through a search in the EBSCO databases, between January and February 2023, encompassing articles written in Portuguese, English and Spanish, dated between 2010 and 2022, and which addressed the involvement of family and visiting hours in the adult ICU. For this purpose, the following keywords were used: intensive care; family caregiver; intensive care unit; hospital. From a total of 933 articles, six were selected for final analysis.

Results: A flexible visiting policy does not appear to reduce the incidence of delirium in patients, but is associated with lower levels of agitation, anxiety and confusion in patients, and greater satisfaction among patients and families, without harmfully affecting services. 

Conclusions: ICU visits during more flexible periods seem to present benefits in terms of family satisfaction, but the need for greater evidence is recognized, and recommendations must be adapted to each ICU.