Psychological distress among the family members of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients: A scoping review

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To map research-based psychological distress among the family members with patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).

BACKGROUND: Having a loved one in the ICU is a stressful experience, which may cause psychological distress for family members. Depression, anxiety and stress are the common forms of psychological distress associated with ICU patient's family members. Directly or indirectly, psychological distress may have behavioural or physiological impacts on the family members and ICU patient's recovery.

DESIGN: The study was based on the five-stage methodological framework by Arksey and O'Malley (International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 2005, 8, 19) and were guided by the PRISMA-ScR Checklist.

METHODS: A comprehensive and systematic search was performed in five electronic databases, namely the Scopus, Web of Sciences, CINAHL® Complete @EBSCOhost, ScienceDirect and MEDLINE. Reference lists from the screened full-text articles were reviewed.

RESULTS: From a total of 1252 literature screened, 22 studies published between 2010-2019 were included in the review. From those articles, four key themes were identified: (a) Prevalence of psychological distress; (b) Factors affecting family members; (c) Symptoms of psychological distress; and (d) Impact of psychological distress.

CONCLUSIONS: Family members with a critically ill patient in ICU show high levels of anxiety, depression and stress. They had moderate to major symptoms of psychological distress that negatively impacted both the patient and family members.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The review contributed further insights on psychological distress among ICU patient's family members and proposed psychological interventions that could positively impact the family well-being and improve the patients' recovery.