Needs of Critically Ill Patients’ Relatives in Emergency Departments

Background: Illnesses influence patients as well as patients’ relatives and causeemotional problems, such as anger, fear, and anxiety. Determining the needs ofpatients’ relatives increases satisfaction of patients and relatives and enhanceshealth‑care goal achievement. Objective: The objective of this study was toexamine the needs of critically ill patients’ relatives in emergency departmentsand the state of meeting these needs. Methods: This descriptive study wasconducted on 202 critically ill patients’ relatives at emergency department ofAtatürk University Research Hospital. The data were collected using the CriticalCare Family Needs Inventory for Emergency Departments (CCFNIED) and aform for meeting the needs of critically ill patients’ relatives. Data were analyzedusing percentage distribution, mean, analysis of variance, Mann–Whitney U test,and Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: The needs of patients’ relatives according to theorder of importance included communication with family members (3.88 ± 0.28),being supported (3.40 ± 0.42), being involved in care in the emergencydepartment (3.27 ± 0.34), and comfort (3.20 ± 0.51). Using CCFNIED, the totalmean score was 3.52 ± 0.31. Conclusion: Related studies are recommended toconsider patients’ relatives in the emergency department as a part of care, enablethem to be involved in patient care, provide support for them, and enhance theircomfort.