Necesidades de los familiares de pacientes críticos en un hospital académico de Chile

<p>The needs of family members of patients admitted to the intensive care unit</p>

“…In particular, “To have someone to help with financial problems” and “To have good food available in the hospital” were the least important needs of the family members. This was consistent with studies elsewhere,24,35 and suggests that there is a high level of financial risk protection for health care services in the study area as well as reduced need for food among relatives of patients in the ICU. Moreover, if the hospital was close to the families’ homes, they may not need to eat at the hospital, making the quality of the hospital’s food less relevant.…”

“…In particular, the assurance need “To be assured that the best care possible is being given to the patient” was ranked first. This was consistent with the findings of an earlier study in Jeddah and other Arab nations,26–28,34 but differs from the findings in Europe and South America which showed that “To have questions answered honestly” as the most ranked assurance need 25,29–32,35. The reason for the differences between settings is not clear, but it suggests that sociocultural values may play a role, and these items should receive more attention during counseling of family members by ICU nurses 34…”

“…There was no gender difference in the needs of the participants in this study. This contrasts with the experience in Chile, Norway, and South Africa where women tended to have a higher level of need compared to men 35–37. The reasons for this difference may be due to the inclusion of a smaller proportion of women in this survey, probably due to religious and cultural reasons.…”

“…Although the needs for support and comfort were considered less important by family members, some of these needs’ items had a score of 3 or more. As demonstrated elsewhere,35 this suggests that these dimensions of need are still important to the family members, although to a lesser extent. In particular, “To have someone to help with financial problems” and “To have good food available in the hospital” were the least important needs of the family members.…”

“…The reasons for this difference may be due to the inclusion of a smaller proportion of women in this survey, probably due to religious and cultural reasons. This might have influenced the high rating of needs, as previous studies have shown that females consider and report family needs as more important than their male counterparts 35,37–39. These gender differences in ranking majority of needs suggest that it may be necessary for health care workers to exercise tact and be sensitive to the needs of family members of ICU patients, especially in situations where females form the highest proportion of family members.…”