Needs of family members of critically ill or injured patients during the interhospital transport period

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived needs of family members of critically ill/injured patients who were transported by air ambulance. The needs of family members were assessed from two perspectives: (a) the family members' and (b) the flight nurses'. An exploratory descriptive study design was implemted. Participants were 51 adult family members of 25 critically ill/inured patients requiring air ambulance transport and 12 flight nurses from two air ambulance programs. Using a modified version of the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory, subject were asked to rate the importance of 58 needs statements and in addition the family members were asked to answer an open-ended question to determine if there were any new needs not elicited in the questionnaire. Family members and flight nurses reported that 55 of the 58 need statements were considered very important/important by 50% of the family members and flight nurses. The responses to the open-ended question revealed family members had additional needs regarding transportation to the hospital, child care, a place to smoke, and additional information types of needs. The top 10 needs identified by family members were reflective of the desire for assurance and information, and the flight nurses perceived family members as having needs mostly reflective of proximity and assurance. There were some statistically significant differences in family members' and flight nurses' perceptions of family members' needs. No conclusive differences could be delineated if needs differed according to the family members' relationship to the patient, socioeconomic status, age, gender, patient diagnosis, and prior experience with air ambulance transport. Family members perceived that a majority (i.e., 32) of the 58 need statements were met less than 60% of the time when perceived as very important/important.