Intensive care nurses’ attitudes about the importance of family involvement in adult intensive care: A multicentre cross-sectional study

Introduction: Family involvement in intensive care (IC) benefits patients and families, but requires nurses to go beyond. ICU nurses are facing the additional task of offering support for family members and involving them in care activities. This requires a positive attitude towards family participation. This study aims to describe the attitudes of ICU nurses towards involving family members in nursing care and to investigate the association of demographic and professional characteristics with these attitudes. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in ten hospitals across the Netherlands. ICU nurses received an online questionnaire including the Families Importance to Nursing Care (FINC-NA) scale (with scores ranging from 22 to 110). The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. Results: The FINC-NA questionnaire was completed by 583 ICU nurses (42% response rate). The mean attitude of ICU nurses was 73.3 (SD 8.78). In general, ICU nurses viewed the family as important in care provision. However, ICU nurses showed a less positive attitude on the subscales “promoting family involvement’’ and “family as a burden’’. A less positive attitude towards family involvement was significantly associated with working more clinical hours per week and ICU nurses working in a university hospital rather than a teaching hospital. Conclusion: ICU nurses showed a less positive attitude towards involving families in care compared to nurses from other clinical settings. Implications for Clinical Practice: In order to establish a more family focused approach in clinical practice, special attention is needed for ICU nurses who work more clinical hours and in a university hospital. Besides, guidelines on family involvement in the ICU may improve nurses’ attitudes.