European cardiovascular nurses' experiences of and attitudes towards having family members present in the resuscitation room

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate cardiovascular nurses ' experiences of and attitudes towards the presence of family members during resuscitation of adult patients. Methods: A 36-item questionnaire exploring the experiences of and attitudes towards family members being present in the resuscitation room was distributed to a convenience sample of nurses attending three national and one international cardiovascular nursing conferences held in Europe during 2007. Results: Of 820 questionnaires distributed, 411(50%) completed ones were returned. Of these 411 respondents, 178 (44%) had experienced at least one situation of families being present. Positive (23%) and negative (21%) experiences of family presence were equally distributed. Only 28 (7%) respondents stated that their unit had a protocol covering family presence. Nurses in Ireland (n=30; 59%) and the UK (n=18; 55%) were most likely to have experienced family presence and protocols relating to this were most commonly found in the UK (n=4; 14%). Conclusion: Less than half of the included European cardiovascular nurses had experienced a situation of families being present during resuscitation and protocols pertaining to this were rare. There was no clear attitude towards family presence, though experience in nursin