Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov 23:10:1060518.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1060518. eCollection 2022.

Family experiences and attitudes toward care of ICU patients with delirium: A scoping review

Sandra Lange  1 , Wioletta Mȩdrzycka-Da Browska  2 , Adriano Friganović  3   4 , Dorota Religa  5 , Sabina Krupa  6
Affiliations

Family experiences and attitudes toward care of ICU patients with delirium: A scoping review

Sandra Lange et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: The family has an important role in the care of the ICU patient. Research shows that the implementation of non-pharmacological interventions to prevent delirium, including interventions with the family, can reduce the incidence of delirium. The aim of this review was to search the available literature about the experiences and attitudes of family/carers of ICU patients diagnosed with delirium during hospitalization.

Methods: A scoping review method was used to map terms relevant to the involvement of relatives in the care of critically ill patients with delirium. To identify studies, the following databases were searched: PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. The database search was ongoing from 15 July 2022, with a final search on 4 August 2022.

Results: Thirteen articles reporting on the experiences and attitudes of family/carers of ICU patients who developed delirium during hospitalization were included in the scoping review. Of the included studies, eight were qualitative studies, three were quantitative studies and two were reviews (systematic review and integrative review). The studies were conducted in North America, Europe, South Africa, and Asia. Our findings show that carers experienced adverse effects associated with delirium in ICU patients such as stress, anxiety, embarrassment, uncertainty, anger, shock. Families/relatives need both emotional and informational support from medical staff.

Conclusion: Relatives want to be involved in the care of the delirium patient, although this needs improvement in some aspects of care such as: lack of awareness, family/relatives knowledge of delirium, improved education, and communication with medical staff. Recognition of delirium by families is acceptable and feasible. Family involvement may induce an increased anxiety, but this aspect needs further research.

Keywords: ICU; delirium; experiences; family; scoping review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ABCDEF package.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PRISMA flow diagram (14).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Goldfarb MJ, Bibas L, Bartlett V, Jones H, Khan N. Outcomes of patient- and family-centered care interventions in the ICU: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Crit Care Med. (2017) 45:1751–61. 10.1097/CCM.0000000000002624 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kokorelias KM, Gignac MAM, Naglie G, Cameron JI. Towards a universal model of family centered care: a scoping review. BMC Health Serv Res. (2019) 19:1–11. 10.1186/s12913-019-4394-5 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marra A, Ely EW, Pandharipande PP, Patel MB. The ABCDEF bundle in critical care. Crit Care Clin. (2017) 33:225–43. 10.1016/j.ccc.2016.12.005 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mart MF, Brummel NE, Ely EW. The ABCDEF bundle for the respiratory therapist. Respir Care. (2019) 64:1561–73. 10.4187/RESPCARE.07235 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pun BT, Balas MC, Barnes-Daly MA, Thompson JL, Aldrich JM, Barr J, et al. . Caring for critically ill patients with the ABCDEF bundle. Crit Care Med. (2019) 47:3–14. 10.1097/ccm.0000000000003482 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types