The needs of family members accompanying patients into a trauma casuality

• Main Author: Johnson, Meghan
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Emergencies; Family; Trauma Centers
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10539/15259

Introduction and Background Trauma Casualty is an environment of constant unpredictability which has an impact on the both the casualty staff, the patient and family. Family members are usually not prepared for the sudden crisis of having a loved one injured. The Trauma Nurse therefore, has a very important role with regards to meeting the needs of the family of patients brought into the unit. The needs of family members in the Intensive Care or Critical Care setting has been extensively researched using the critical care family needs inventory (CCFNI), however very little has been researched in the setting of a trauma or emergency setting. The needs of family members in the emergency setting has been researched in Australia, but no work has been done in South Africa. There is, therefore, a need for research in this area. Purpose of the study The aim of the study was to determine the needs of family members accompanying patients into trauma casualty, in order of importance as perceived by them, and to determine if these needs are being met. Identification of needs will inform the role of the nurse with regard to holistic nursing care including care of the family of the patient. Research Method The study made use of a quantitative descriptive exploratory design. The population (n=97) included family members of patients brought into casualty. The sample size was determined in consultation with a statistician from the Medical Research Council. The inclusion Criteria incorporated family members, over the age of 18, who were willing to complete a self administered questionnaire. Family members of patients who had died in the unit were excluded. An Australian developed instrument, using a Likert Scale to categorise and quantify needs statements, was used. The tool was validated by review of a panel of experts and an inter rater agreement of 90% established. The tool was adapted for the South African context and validated on a subscale level using the Cronbach Alpha correlation test. Five major themes make up the critical care family needs inventory, these consist of “Meaning”, “Proximity”, “Communication”, “Comfort”, and “Support”. Two questionnaires were used, comprised of the same needs statements, however CCFNI-1 was used to determine the level of importance of needs statements, while CCFNI-2 sought to determine the level of satisfaction of needs met. The study setting made use of a Level 1 Trauma Casualty in a Public Tertiary Academic Hospital, in which the pilot study was conducted before data collection in the same setting. The data analysis process made use of descriptive statistics. After cleaning and coding, the data were exported to STATA statistical software for values to be calculated and interpreted. Data were analysed in three steps, namely analysis of demographic data, thematic organisation of analysed data and content analysis of open ended questions. Main Findings The main findings highlighted the importance of needs relating to the themes “Meaning” and “Communication”, while satisfaction was highest in the theme “Meaning”. A concerning finding was the low level of satisfaction with needs being met related to communication.