Fulfillment of the family needs for the critically ill patient in Critical Care Unit
should be met by healthcare providers to improve patient’s quality of life. The
purpose of this study was to identify the needs of family members of critically ill
patients in a Critical Care Unit. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 109
family members of patient hospitalized at the Intensive Care Unit and Coronary
Care Units of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). The
modified Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI) comprised of 5 domains of
family member’s needs: Information, Proximity, Assurance, Comfort and Support.
The findings showed that assurance and information needs were the highest with
(3.77 ± 0.306); (3.62 ± 0.379), proximity need (3.60 ± 0.415), support need (3.57
± 0.477) and comfort need (3.55 ± 0.586), respectively. There was significant
relationship between respondent’s relationship with family needs of proximity
(p = 0.013). This study indicated that there were significant association between
respondent’s monthly income and family needs of comfort and support, (p = 0.033)
and (p = 0.004). There was also significant association between the gender with
comfort need (p = 0.013). In this study, it was observed that information, proximity,
assurance, comfort and support were opinioned as their requirements during
hospitalization. Hence, it assists in coping while being admitted to Intensive Care
Unit and Coronary Care Unit of UKMMC. An educational package and updating
patient’s information should be emphasized to enhance the family needs of critically
ill patient in the critical care settings.