Hola a tod@s, my dear friends.
Today I would like to share a review article published on Current Opinion in Critical Care, signed by Schmidt and Azoulay. I think it´s a fantastic paper.
ICU is perhaps the place of the hospital were families suffer most. To have a family member admitted to the ICU and the subsequent consequences generates stress, anxiety and depression, and these symptoms can be prevented or minimized. It is described the postintensive care syndrome family and practitioners are more aware of that and we should also focus on the family.
70% of the families present anxiety and up to 35% depression, as well as the situations of stress during the acute phase and post-traumatic stress. These symptoms affect the couple, and unfortunately can keep in time with complicated duels.
The family assumes the role of care and decision-making, two ballots very difficult to carry out and that only are understand well when everyone has had to go through this.
They are necessary to minimize the brutal impact that this vital event:
– Communication strategies
– Adequate information.
– Reorganize the functioning of the ICU: flexible schedules, assigning a team of care continued.
– Make the family participate in care
– Psychological screening of family members at risk.
– Monitoring postUCI.
Let´s go to see how we launch it!
Happy Thursday,
Gabi
We had a patient in our ICU wanting to leave cause she had play bingo at 2:30 daily. As a recreation therapist I brought bingo to the ICU and played with the patient and her family. For an hour they had fun and did not have to think about end of life issues.
That´s a fantastic way to help! Thanks for your comment Phuong
When we talk about family, we tend to think of it as a whole. But the family is each of its component members who are visiting their family member in critical condition. It is important to know the role they play within the family and which one have assumed while his family member is in the ICU: Who will get bad news, if there are any. Who is the primary caregiver, if there is any. If any member of the family lives in another city or country, what role occupies? Are they waiting for them to arrive ?, included the patient, even if he/se has sedated. And countless more assumptions that make up the uniqueness of each family. Each member needs to be taken care of unique and personalized way.
Elena Lorente Guerrero
http://www.detotselscolors.wordpress.com