Abstract

WRZESINSKI, Andressa; BENINCA, Ciomara Ribeiro Silva  and  ZANETTINI, Angélica. Icu Visits Project: family ideas and perceptions about the extended visit. Rev. SBPH [online]. 2019, vol.22, n.2, pp. 90-108. ISSN 1516-0858.

The intensive care unit is a complex and stressful environment that articulates serious illness and the need for intensive care with the removal of the family. In this sense, the expanded visitation policy is presented as a possibility of humanizing the service. This paper describes the experience and perception of the care of ten relatives who had the opportunity to stay with their ICU intern for up to twelve consecutive hours. They are part of the ICU Visits Project, with implementation of extended family visits in Brazilian hospitals. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analyzed phenomenologically. The results reveal that family member's discomfort and anguish in witnessing the suffering and the possibility of death of their relatives can be complicated by the lack of reception of the team that fosters the visitor's sense of estrangement and uselessness. In contrast, if welcomed and oriented, family members believe they contribute significant therapeutic gains, promoting overall well-being of the patient. It is concluded that extension of the permanence of the visits should be made through a psychoeducational process that includes not only patients and their relatives, but also institutional commitment to qualification and mental health of the staff responsible for carrying it out.

Keywords : intensive care units; clinical health psychology; hospitalization; extended clinical care.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )