Needs of Chinese families of critically ill patients

Critical illness and subsequent hospitalization are stressful for patients and their family members. The purpose of this descriptive study was to iden tify the family members' perceptions of their immediate needs within 48 to 96 hours following admission of a relative to a critical care unit in Hong Kong and to compare their perceptions with the critical care nurses' percep tions of the family needs. A convenience sample of 37 Chinese family member s and 45 registered nurses completed a self-report Chinese version of the C ritical Care Family Need Inventory. The 10 most important and 10 least impo rtant family needs were identified by family members and by nurses and the results were compared. Conclusions were drawn about the implications for nu rses in planning and implementing quality family-centered care for critical ly ill patients.