THE EFFECT OF FAMILY’S SUPPORTIVE PRESENCE ON THE RECOVERY OF PATIENTS WITH BRAIN INJURY IN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL

The family is an integral part of the treatment process and patient safety in
intensive care units. Despite evidence of positive effects of family participation in patient care, the
family presence in intensive care unit is still under question. Therefore this study performs to
investigate the effect of family’s supportive presence on the recovery of patients with brain injury in
intensive care unit.
Materials & Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 60 patients with brain injury
hospitalized in the intensive care unit in Kamyab Mashhad hospital. Intervention was patient's primary
care by members of the family in the first 6 days of admission. "Apache II” used as recovery scale,
and the data were analyzed by SPSS version 11.5.
Results: Based on the results of the independent t test, there was no statistically significant difference
between the two groups in the mean of "Apache II” on the first day (p=0.838). But the mean of
"Apache II” score of patients in the intervention group showed greater reductions in sixth day than the
control group (p=0.005). Statistically significant correlation was found between female family
member and change in "Apache II” scores in the intervention group (p=0.006).
Conclusions: Family’s supportive presence in the intensive care unit will speed up the patient’s
recovery process. Existing concerns among nurses, and revising their beliefs about this, can provide
the context for using the benefit of the family presence