Abstracts

Introduction: Admission to Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and the critical conditions of patients in ICU is a source of anxiety and stress, even a moment of crisis, for family members of ICU patients; yet the aftermath extends far beyond the ICU survivors' discharge.The resonance of critical illness affects the Quality of Life (QoL) of the ICU survivors' family members, introducing a syndrome known as Family Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS-F).Objective: To explore the lived experience of family members of ICU survivors after 1 month from discharge.Methods: A phenomenological study was conducted using Cohen's method (Cohen et al., 2000).The subjects were interviewed with an open question to allow them full freedom of expression.Twenty-one family members were recruited with a convenience sampling, between November and December 2023.Results: The analysis of the qualitative data resulted in four major themes.Theme 1: helplessness.Participants described how they felt helpless, not being able to change the condition of their loved ones.This affected their well-being, as they felt suspended, with the overwhelming feeling that they were unable to provide any assistance.Theme 2: The unknown-generating anxiety and stress.The 'not knowing' led to developing anxiety, especially questioning the meaning of life and the uncertainty of the outcomes.In addition, many participants reported being stressed by the onset of irritability and sleep disturbances.Theme 3: Sudden life changes.Participants reported life-changing events, such as leaving or stopping work.An inability to think about professional commitments and daily life tasks was described, disrupting the physiological work-life balance.Theme 4:(re)discovering the value of affection.Critical illness and the prospect of losing their loved ones helped participants discover or rediscover the value of the closeness of friends and family.Implications for practice: The comprehension of family members' experience in ICU is very limited, especially their lived experience after the ICU discharge of their loved ones.A deeper understanding of family members' emotions and perceptions, and the impact of the critical illness, is fundamental for promoting a family centred-care approach for critical care nurses, to address family members' needs and build high quality care pathways tailored on their experience.