Abstract

Objective: As a result of patients being admitted to and staying in the intensive care unit, their family members experience different emotional disorders such as psychological breakdown, stress, and depression. This study was carried out to determine the relationship between the needs of intensive care patient relatives and the frequency of depressive symptoms.

Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a descriptive design with the relatives of 53 patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit. Personal Information Form, Relatives Needs Scale in Intensive Care Units, and Beck Depression Inventory were used to collect data.

Results: In the study, it was found that the patients’ relatives’ score for Beck’s Depression Inventory had a positive, weak, and significant relationship with the patients’ total score for Glasgow Coma Scale and the patients’ relatives’ age, and there was a negative, weak, and significant relationship between the patient relatives’ age and their score for Patients’ Relatives’ Needs in Intensive Care Units Scale (p<0.05).

Conclusion: It can be asserted that the intensive care unit patients’ relatives’ frequency of depressive symptoms decreases as their needs are met. During the patients’ treatment and care process, their relatives should also be examined in terms of emotional breakdown. Patients’ relatives’ needs are often not taken into consideration during the patients’ admission to intensive care unit, and therefore, they may develop feelings such as fear, anxiety, or curiosity about the process. If patients’ relatives feel neglected, this undermines their trust in the health care workers and the service provided by them.