SynthesisCritical care medicine2026
Characteristics and Effectiveness of Nurse-Led Family Communication Interventions in the ICU: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Critical care medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Families' View on Primary Nursing in Intensive Care Units - A Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- Exploring the Cognitive Phenotypes of Implementation Barriers to Analgesia and Sedation Management Among ICU Nurses: A Q Methodology Study.Journal of nursing management · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo determine the characteristics and effectiveness of nurse-led family communication interventions in the ICU. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Web of Science, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Library, and relevant article citations from January 1995 to July 2025. STUDY SELECTION: We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies evaluating nurse-led family communication interventions in adult ICUs. DATA EXTRACTION: Two independent reviewers assessed evidence levels and risk of bias using the Cochrane tool and the Joanna Briggs Institute's Critical Appraisal Tools. Data were synthesized according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews guidelines, and interventions were summarized with the Template for Intervention Description and Replication Checklist. DATA SYNTHESIS: Seven RCTs and seven quasi-experimental studies were included. The most common nurse-family communication model was an in-person, structured, and dynamically tailored intervention during the patient's ICU stay. Nurses played five core roles: information delivery and clarification, emotional support, family assessment, family meeting facilitation, and transitional support. Bedside ICU nurses led information delivery and multidimensional family assessments. Internal research nurses handled information clarification, structured needs assessment, and family meeting coordination. External research nurses focused on family meeting support, structured emotional support, and transitional care. Although the interventions may improve communication quality (standardized mean differences [SMD] = 0.26) and reduce hospital length of stay (LOS) (mean differences [MD] = -3.87 d), they appear to have limited effects on psychologic distress, satisfaction, ICU LOS, or mortality; they may also increase family meeting frequency/duration and lower overall costs.
conclusionsThe conclusions of our systematic review are limited by considerable heterogeneity in intervention intensity, implementer profiles, and adaptation descriptions. Future interventions should define optimal dosage and outline best practices for evidence-based intervention tailoring and implementation. Healthcare institutions should integrate specialized nursing roles, such as training bedside nurses or establishing dedicated communication facilitators. This approach may leverage nurses' expertise to enhance communication quality and improve outcomes.
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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.