Family support in acute care settings: Perspectives of family members on cognitive and emotional support

Background: Family support during acute illnesses is both a care quality indicator and a goal to deliver value-based care that is respectful of patients and their families’ needs. The aim of this study was to assess the level of perceived family support (i.e., cognitive, and emotional support for family members) provided by nurses in the context of acute care among family members. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 800 family members, these were recruited from two large hospitals in Uganda. Data collection took place between August 2020 to December 2020. The Icelandic Family Perceived Support Questionnaire (ICE-FPSQ), which measures emotional and cognitive support from the family member´s perspective was used. Analyses were conducted using means, and ANOVA in the R-programming software version 4.0.3 - 2020-10-10. Results : The overall ranking of family support received from nurses by family members was moderate (mean global score on the 14 indicators in the ICE-FPSQ was 45.4 (SD = range 14-70). The perceived cognitive support from nurses by family members was also rated as moderate (mean = 16.3, SD =4.5). Notably, the element “utilizing family rituals to enhance family health” received the lowest scores in the realm of cognitive support. Emotional support offered to family members by nurses received moderate ratings (mean= 32.4, SD=9.36). Within the emotional support category, the element of nurses encouraging the family to take respite from caregiving responsibilities generated the lowest scores (mean = 2.95, SD = 1.43). Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that nurses give the least priority or aren´t aware of the benefits of family rituals or don’t perceive it as important compared to other aspects of cognitive support offered to patient´s families. Nurses may not effectively communicate the importance of encouraging family members to take respite from caregiving responsibilities as an element of emotional support. The moderate perceptible family support scores suggests that the level of support provided by nurses is satisfactory, yet there remains room for sustenance. Ascertaining moderate family perceived support indicates the necessity to improve family support from nurses. Trial registration: A clinical trial number is not applicable to this study.