Emotional strain, communication, and satisfaction of family members in the intensive care unit compared with expectations of the medical staff: experiences from a Norwegian University Hospital.
OBJECTIVES: To determine satisfaction in regard to information concerning, and support and facilities for relatives in the intensive care unit (ICU), and to compare this with the staff's expectations on these issues; to determine relatives' degree of psychological distress and use of hypnotics, anxiolytics, and antidepressants; finally, to compare the distress of relatives of survivors and relatives of non-survivors. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: University-affiliated ICU. METHODS: Relatives of 50 patients who survived at least 6 days in the ICU and relatives of 18 non-survivors who stayed for at least 24 h anonymously completed a mailed questionnaire at home 4 weeks after treatment in the ICU. Forty-three staff members (69%) answered the questionnaire. The degree of satisfaction was measured on a five-point scale (0-4). MAIN RESULTS: The average satisfaction scores were 3.4+/-0.6 SD for relatives of survivors and 3.4+/-0.5 for relatives of non-survivors. Staff expected a significantly lower degree of satisfaction, with a score of 2.9+/-0.5 (P