Including Family in Patient Care in the Critical Care Setting: Ongoing Challenges

Traditionally, the intent of nursing and medical care has focused on the patient. While family-centered approaches have been extensively described in the literature in regards to meeting patient and family needs during critical illness, actual practice may not demonstrate acceptance of important elements of family care. This may be due to several factors: lack of a framework that addresses the interrelationship between the patient, family and healthcare team; inadequate knowledge of family systems theory and family resilience; and perceived time constraints surrounding family involvement. Since Molter and Leske (1983) first identified the needs of family in the critical care setting, nurses have sought to find the best intervention to meet these needs [1]. Nursing & Health International Journal recently featured work by Chiara and Lucia (2018) on communication with the critical patient and his family members [2]. Additional needs, such as to visit or be near the patient, receive support from the healthcare team, learn about the patient's care and treatment regimen, and to be involved in the care of the patient, have also been identified, most recently in several narrative and systematic reviews [3-11].