Factors Affecting the Nurse-Patients Family Communication in Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Background: Effective communication is an important aspect of patient care, which improves nurse-patient relationship and has a profound effect on the patient's perceptions of health care quality and treatment outcomes and Communication is the source of enhancing patients' health, and nurses cannot do their duties without communicating with patients. Nurses who have good communication skills play a major role in reducing the psychological stress that patients and their families feel during the hospitalization period.

Aim: to assess the factors affecting communication between nurses and patients’ families and to find out the relationship between the factors affecting communication and the demographic data of nurses.

 Methods: a cross-sectional design. The study is a purposive (non-probability) sample was conducted for this purpose in (ICU) in three main hospitals in Al Najaf Al – Ashraf, these are: Al-Sadr Medical City, Al-Najaf Al-shraf Teaching Hospital and Al-Furat Al-Awsat Hospital The sample who participated in the study are 100 nurses. The instrument contains two parts: Part I: Demographic data sheet, consisted of (6) items which included (Age, Sex, level of Education, Years of Nursing Experience, Number of years working in intensive care unit, if Nurses have training courses on communication). And Part II: This part includes (6) items which consist of Factors affecting communication is (Physical Aspect, Emotional aspect, Psychosocial aspect, Spiritual aspect, Discussing the nature of decision, impartiality).

Findings: The results of the study indicated that is data show that majority 75% of nurses allow family members to stay with the patient, and most of the sample 92% attempt to overcome institutional barriers to ensure family involvement. reflecting a positive trend toward integrating family into the care process. However, significant obstacles were identified, with the most notable, only 14% of nurses encourage family involvement in patient care, and only 35% motivate family members to take care of themselves, indicating that comprehensive family support still needs improvement. Statistical analysis revealed are a significant association between Years of work in ICU and psychosocial domain.

Conclusion: the nurses express supportive feelings toward family members, and only few of them actively encourage family participation in patient care. Moreover, avoiding restoring hope among family, and not to confirm a decision to avoid causing additional pain to the patient are the main factors that affecting nurses' communication with family members.