Information and support needs of adult family members of patients in intensive care units: an Iranian perspective Razieh Bandari PhD Student in Nursing, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Iran Majideh Heravi-Karimooi Associate Professor, Elderly Care Research Centre, Shahed University, Department of Nursing, Iran Nahid Rejeh Associate Professor, Elderly Care Research Centre, Shahed University, Department of Nursing, Iran Majid Mirmohammadkhani Assistant Professor, Research Centre for Social Determinants of Health, Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Iran Mojtaba Vaismoradi Researcher, Faculty of Professional Studies, University of Nordland, Norway Sherrill Snelgrove Senior Lecturer, College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, UK Abstract Nurses are required to be knowledgeable about the needs of family members of patients hospitalised in the intensive care unit. The identification of the importance and priority of family members’ needs enables nurses to provide appropriate information and support for family members. The aim of this study was to describe the needs of family members of patients hospitalised in the intensive care unit. A descriptive cross-sectional study using survey methods was conducted. Family members of patients hospitalised for 24–72 hours in the intensive care units of 27 public and teaching hospitals in an urban area of Iran were chosen using the random sampling method. The 45-item Persian version of the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory was used to collect numerical data. Four hundred and fifty family members participated. The mean score for each of the 45 items ranged from 2.45 to 3.72. Ten items Corresponding author: Majideh Heravi-Karimooi, Elderly Care Research Centre – Shahed University, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery (opposite Holy Shrine of Imam Khomeini-Khalij Fars Expressway), Tehran, Iran. Email: heravi@shahed.ac.ir Journal of Research in Nursing 2015, Vol. 20(5) 401–422 ! The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1744987115591868 jrn.sagepub.com by guest on August 2, 2015 jrn.sagepub.com Downloaded from