ArticleIntensive & critical care nursing2023
Family member perspectives on intensive care unit in-person visiting restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.
Article in Intensive & critical care nursing, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of digital communication tools on patients, family members and health care professionals in adult ICUs: a mixed-methods systematic review.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of restricted family presence during the COVID-19 pandemic on critically ill patients, families, and critical care clinicians: a qualitative systematic review.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
- Beyond the ICU: family resilience and emotional turmoil after intensive care - a qualitative study.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- 'Those Were Smiling Eyes': Patients' Experiences and Perceptions of ICU Health Care During Pandemics.Nursing open · 2025Article
- "I don't know how we would have coped without it." Understanding the Importance of a Virtual Hospital Visiting Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of patient experience · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFamily member presence in the intensive care unit is important for patient well-being and recovery. Limitations to visits increase the risk of psychological distress in family members. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person visiting restrictions were introduced to prevent the spread of infection. PURPOSE: To explore the experience of in-person visiting restrictions imposed during the pandemic on family members of patients with COVID-19 admitted to an intensive care unit.
methodQualitative method with thematic analysis. Individual semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted.
findingsWe interviewed 21 family members. The results are presented in one overall theme with two main themes and five sub-themes. The theme 'Striving for closeness even at a distance describes the experience of being kept at a physical distance when participants needed closeness the most. Even participants who were allowed in-person visits perceived a 'distance' due to personal protective equipment or because they could only view the patient from a window. Participants reported that contact with and information about the patient was of utmost importance. Visits were viewed as essential in providing for the patient's wellbeing. Meaningful contact with the ICU team was vital for getting useful information. Phone calls became a lifeline, with digital aids such as video calls used occasionally to overcome the feeling of distance.
conclusionVisiting restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic made straightforward and comprehensible communication of information from the ICU team more essential to reduce family members' perceptions of distance and exclusion from the intensive care unit.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.