A Comparison of Nurse and Spouse Perceptions Concerning Psychosocial Needs

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to discover and compare spouse's and nurse's perceptions of selected psychosocial needs. Twenty-six spouses of cardiac patients admitted to intensive care ranked 45 need statements using the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory. Nineteen nu rses were also asked to assess and select the spouse's needs using the same tool . The need to know the prognosis was identified as the most important by t h e spouses of this study. Whereas, the nurses perceived the need to have hope as the most important for the spouses. The results showed that significant differences existed between the perceptions of spouses and intensive care nurses regardings election of the spouse's psychosocial needs