Family presence during emergency care is endorsed by numerous nursing and medical organizations, including the American College of Critical Care Medicine. Yet concerns are still expressed by health care providers, and the practice of family presence continues to vary across the United States.
O’Connell and colleagues interviewed family members of children who had met trauma team activation criteria and compared those who were present during the trauma evaluation with families who were not. They found the following:
This study offered a deeper understanding of the family experience from both groups of parents. The authors stress the importance of having written policies and staff education about family presence to help guide best practices.
See Article, pp 229–239
Research studies have not shown an association between presence of a nighttime intensivist and patient mortality or adverse outcomes for patients (eg, length of stay, readmission to intensive care unit [ICU]). However, these studies...
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