Study with Family Members of Patients in the Intensive Care Unit: An Intervention of Medical Undergraduates

Abstract

Attention to the family members of patients hospitalized in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) is one of the most important items of the global patient care. The present study involves the health needs of the relatives of patients hospitalized in ICUs of a school hospital of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) located in a Brazilian State (S а o Paulo). This HEI, with a differentiated curriculum in the country, aims at the practical/theoretical integration and teaching/service articulation. In this context, a research-action study was carried out by professors and students of this HEI, raising the main demands of relatives of specific age groups of patients admitted to the ICU. This step subsidized the formulation and application of interventions in these scenarios, in order to address the needs presented. Based on a qualitative analysis of interviews conducted, we discussed three thematic categories: the experience of having a relative in the ICU; the reference professional and the family perspective on the reception and care of the team; the quality of family-patient contact in the ICU. We emphasize the importance of dialoguing with the family members about the experiences they are having, as well as orienting them about the dynamics of the ICU ’ s environment, the patient’s condition, the procedures being performed and the purposes of the equipments used. The attention to the family of a patient hospitalized in an ICU should not be for gotten, being recognized as an important care of the multiprofessional team.