Authors (including presenting author) :
NGO On Lai (presenter)(1), Dr YUEN Wai Yee Grace (2) Dr CHEUNG Hei Lok Emmanuel(1)(3)
Affiliation :
1) Adult Intensive Care Unit, Queen Mary Hospital
2) Division of Nursing Education, Hong Kong Baptist University
3) Critical Care Medicine Unit, University of Hong Kong
Keyword 1: :
Family meeting
Keyword 2: :
Family satisfaction
Keyword 3: :
adult intensive care unit
Introduction :
Families of critically ill patients often face stress due to unable communicate that leads to high risk of developing anxiety and depression. Effective communication between families and staff is crucial to support families and enhance their satisfaction. This study investigates the implementation of a structured multi-disciplinary family meeting protocol to enhance family satisfaction in an adult intensive care unit (AICU).
Objectives :
This project aims at enhancing family satisfaction by multi-disciplinary family meetings.
Methodology :
The study was conducted in a 20-bed medical-surgical AICU. A multi-disciplinary protocol was implemented, beginning with a physician-and-nurse family meeting within 24 hours of AICU admission, followed by daily nurse-led update meetings and additional multi-disciplinary meetings every 4–6 days. Seventy-seven AICU nurses and physicians were trained on communication techniques, 41 family members were recruited, and 35 completed the study. Family satisfaction was measured using the Family Satisfaction in the AICU 24R (FS-ICU-24R) survey, implemented after the first meeting and within 7 days of AICU discharge. Data were analysed using IBM-SPSS with paired statistical tests to compare pre- and post-intervention scores.
Result & Outcome :
After implementing the structured family meetings, participants reported significantly higher satisfaction with care (mean increase from 63.11 to 80.44, p< 0.001), decision-making (45.73 to 62.50, p< 0.001), and overall satisfaction (57.75 to 74.87, p< 0.001). There is no significant effect from different education levels or prior ICU experience. After implementing the structured family meetings, participants reported significantly higher satisfaction with care (mean increase from 63.11 to 80.44, p< 0.001), decision-making (45.73 to 62.50, p< 0.001), and overall satisfaction (57.75 to 74.87, p< 0.001). There is no significant effect from different education levels or prior ICU experience.
