Poster Presentation
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
This presentation is part of : Poster Presentations I
Understanding Family Member's Anxiety After Traumatic Brain Injury: From Intensive Care Unit Through Acute Hospitalization and Inpatient Rehabilitation
Maria Jinky Valdez, RN, MSN, CRRN, Nursing, Solaris Health System, Edison, NJ, USA and Grace Ibe, RN, MSN, Administration, Robertwood Johnson University hospital, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Learning Objective #1: The learner will be able to describe the phases of TBI experience and the factors that cause family members stress and anxiety.
Learning Objective #2: The learner will be able to describe ways on how nurses can help to facilitate family members management of the experience of traumatic brain injury.
Purpose: The purpose of the study is to provide an in-depth understanding of family members stress and anxiety as their loved one with traumatic brain injury transitions through three different points of care: the intensive care unit, the acute medical unit, and the acute rehabilitation unit. Design: Cross-sectional design using qualitative method. Methods: A qualitative research approach was used in this study. Individual interviews using open-ended, semi-structured questions captured the descriptions of family member’s experience of anxiety and gained their perception of the events. Sample: The purposive sampling included 22 family members of patients who were direct care providers of their relative receiving care after traumatic brain injury drawn from two different healthcare facilities in New Jersey. The number of participants was determined using the principle of saturation of data. Findings: Qualitative findings revealed how this traumatic event affected family members and how they responded as they performed their caregiving responsibilities to their injured loved one. The theme “shock and disbelief”, waiting and uncertainty” and don’t keep me in the dark” captured the essence of the ICU and medical unit experience. The concept “I’m very afraid to leave” is a phenomenon described by some family members upon their loved ones experience of care in the acute medical unit. The expectation that their loved one would return to “normal status” upon transfer to rehabilitation began with “hope” and was quickly followed by “disillusionment” as families realized that rehabilitation was a long process and they would have to wait to see “when (or if) he/she would come back”. The theme “interruption and reintegration” represented significant changes and losses for family members. The family members’ “coping process” was captured by their need for continuous information; social/emotional support; and humanism and faith.

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