Survey on assessments from family member and nurse for needs of critical patients

Objective To investigate the assessments from family member and nurse for nursing care needs of critical patients based on the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Methods Questionnaires regarding nursing care needs of critical patients were designed according to the Maslow's hierarchy of needs; these questionnaires were performed to family members and nurses, and the results were analyzed. Results There was difference regarding the order of various needs of critical patients between family members and nurses; compared to nurse, family members had significantly higher scores on love and belongingness need [(4.08±0.72) points vs. (3.44±0.63) points, t=5.61, P<0.01], and had obviously lower scores on safety needs [(3.71±0.62) points vs. (3.92±0.69) points, t=2.18, P<0.05]. Conclusions The asymmetry in assessments from family member and nurse for nursing care needs of critical patients exist objectively; during clinical nursing, communication with family members should enhance and provide humanized services and management measures should be adopted to improve family members' satisfaction towards nursing service. Key words: Nurses; Critical care; Needs assessment; Maslow's hierarchy of needs