• Erica E Edwards, Lisa Davies Despotopulos, and Diane L Carroll.
• Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA02114, USA.
• Clin Nurse Spec. 2013 Sep 1; 27 (5): 239-44.

Purpose/ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to measure changes in perceptions of healthcare providers (HCPs) in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) before and after an implementation of an educational program that included approval of a unit-based guideline for family presence (FP) during resuscitation and invasive procedures.DesignA descriptive pretest and posttest design was used to measure changes in perception for FP during resuscitation and invasive procedures.SettingThe setting for this study was a CICU of a large academic medical center.SampleA convenient sample of HCPs who work in a CICU was included in this study.MethodsHealthcare providers completed the FP scales for confidence and risk-benefit for resuscitation and invasive procedure before and after the implementation of an FP educational program. The program included presentations, discussions, and collaborative guideline development approval with CICU HCPs.FindingsThere were 43 HCPs before and 40 HCPs after the FP educational program who completed the FP Confidence and Risk-Benefit Scales. There was improvement in FP Risk Benefit Scale for resuscitation (P < .01), although there was no change in the invasive procedure scale. There was no significant change in confidence for FP for resuscitation or invasive procedures, although there was a trend toward improved scores. There was a significant increase in the number of family members present during resuscitation after the educational program (P < .02).ImplicationsThe conduct of FP educational program and the approval of a unit-based guideline improved HCPs' perception of risk and benefit of FP during resuscitation and the actual presence of family during resuscitation. This effort provided the infrastructure for FP in the CICU and support for further FP efforts.

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