News - Guidelines to Address Support of Families in the ICU
DES PLAINES, IL -- February 1, 2007 -- Clinical practice guidelines on supporting families whose loved ones are patients in intensive care units (ICU) will be published in the February issue of Critical Care Medicine and available on the Society of Critical Care Medicine's website www.LearnICU.org.
This is the first set of guidelines that defines standards for incorporating families into decision-making and care for ICU patients. "The guidelines attempt to define evidence-based best practices for support of families in the delivery of patient-centered care in the ICU," says Judy E. Davidson, RN, FCCM, chairperson of the American College of Critical Care Medicine task force and the lead author of the guidelines. "It is now known that up to 80% of family members of ICU patients develop anxiety, depression and/or post-traumatic stress response related to their experience."
Posted by gruwell at February 5, 2007 11:27 AM | TrackBack