Family as Healthcare Partners: Benefits and Barriers in Critical Care

Although supported in the literature, family-centered approaches in the critical care setting continue to meet with ongoing resistance by members of the healthcare team. This was evidenced recently with visitation restrictions enacted during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 or COVID-19 pandemic. A pilot study conducted at a metropolitan medical center utilizing the Patient and Family Access Model of Care© found that using a protocol to engage families in patient care resulted in increased family satisfaction. The challenge lies in determining what barriers factor into the decision-making process to exclude families from becoming partners in patient care and developing actions to overcome existing obstacles.