Aims To identify, appraise and describe the characteristics and measurement properties of instruments assessing nurses’ attitudes towards the importance of involving families in their clinical practice. Design Psychometric systematic review. Data Sources The PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched from their time of inception to June 2018. Review Methods Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility of studies, extracted data, and appraised the methodological quality of the studies using the COSMIN checklist. Results A total of 19 studies representing 5 instruments were included. Two instruments—a revised version of the Families’ Importance in Nursing Care: Nurses’ Attitudes scale (FINC‐NA‐R) and the Family Nurse Practice Scale (FNPS)—obtained higher scores for most of their properties. The instruments used in the remaining eight studies require further assessment of their psychometric properties. Conclusion This psychometric review offers a synthesis of the quality of the available instruments and gives a better understanding of nursing theory‐based tools. The FNPS and FINC‐NA‐R instruments seem to be the most suitable measures of nurses’ attitudes towards the importance of involving families in their clinical practice. Impact The growing emphasis on improving nurse–family relationships and the quality of care provided makes it necessary to have valid and reliable instruments for assessing nurses’ attitudes towards the importance of involving families in their clinical practice. This paper provides evidence that will help clinicians and researchers make decisions about the most suitable instrument based on a critical appraisal and comparison of the measurement properties according to a rigorous methodology.

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This study was novel in its design as it included the person with AD as part of the functioning family unit. The temporal stages and the key social processes identified have the potential to inform the development of "stage-specific" interventions for the support of the whole family at various points in time.

Evidence shows that applying family nursing theory to practice benefits the patient, the family, and nursing professionals, yet the implementation of family nursing in clinical practice settings is inconsistent and limited. One of the contributing factors may be related to insufficient or inadequate educational programs focused on family nursing. This article presents a systematic review of the research that has examined the effectiveness of family nursing educational programs aimed at promoting clinical competence in family nursing. Six databases were systematically searched and 14 studies met the inclusion criteria, generating three themes: general study characteristics, educational program components, and outcome measures. These educational programs reported effectiveness in developing family nursing knowledge, skills, and attitudes, but did not evaluate the nurses’ actual acquisition and implementation of family nursing clinical competencies. This review offers relevant implications for research and for family nursing education, especially when designing and evaluating future educational programs. Future research must more closely address the process and outcomes of best educational practices in family nursing education and how these are applied and evaluated in actual practice settings.

Cancer diagnosis poses enormous physical and psychosocial challenges for both the affected person and their families. This systematic review identifies the characteristics and effectiveness of nursing interventions offered to adult patients with cancer and their families. Five databases were searched, and 19 studies published from 2009 to 2020 were included. Interventions were categorized as follows: (a) interventions with supporting and cognitive components ( n = 3), (b) interventions that included skills training for the caregiver ( n = 3), (c) interventions to enhance care through managing symptoms ( n = 8), (d) interventions focusing on the dyad or family–patient relationship ( n = 4), and (e) interventions targeted to the patient’s condition ( n = 1). The results of this review offer an overview from which to carry out new studies and are useful for providing future directions within family nursing practice, taking into account the impact that the family has on the disease and the consequences the condition may bring to the whole family.