[Meaning of family confrontation for nurses of intensive care units for adult people - Medellín 2013].

OBJECTIVE

To comprehend the meaning nurses give to family confrontation, from their experiences while patients are in adult intensive care units in Medellin 2013.

METHOD

A qualitative research study was carried out using a phenomenological approach and theoretical convenience sampling of subjects was used. Interviews with open questions were conducted with nurses that worked in different intensive care units in the city of Medellin, with more than one year of experience in these units. The information was coded and categorised to perform the analysis, and some concept maps were created for the final report.

RESULTS

This study showed that nurses focus their care on the critical patient and not on the patient's family. They considered that there is family confrontation when its members comprehend the processes that are carried out in the intensive care unit, and can contribute to the patient's care, while if families do not have confrontations, it is because they do not understand the process, or feel desperate or are absent. The interventions that nurses consider must be done to help in the family confrontation are: information, interdisciplinary support, visits, and companionship.

CONCLUSION

For the nurses, family confrontation means that family members understand, comprehend, accept, know, bear and go on with the situation; therefore, they can make good decisions regarding the patient's care in the adult intensive care units.