THE SHARING OF INFORMATION AMONG FAMILIES IN AN INTENSIVE THERAPY UNIT: IMPORTANCE ATTRIBUTED BY NURSES

Abstract

Faced with the hospitalisation of a patient in an intensive therapy unit, family members wish to obtain information and ask the nurses, who are increasingly centred in ‘lifesaving’ activities. This study analyses the position of nurses from an intensive therapy unit on the importance of sharing information with members of the families of patients interned in their units. It is an exploratory and descriptive study, with data collected via semi-structured interviews with twelve nurses. Data analysis permitted the conclusion that nurses ignore the needs of families concerning communication, placing it low down among their priorities; in their practice, technical activities valued by their profession predominate. The health professionals justify the failure to communicate on grounds of work load and shortage of time. Characteristics intrinsic to intensive therapy units and difficulties in the communicative process were also identified as factors hindering communication.

Keywords

• Information
• Communication
• Family
• Nursing