ArticleBMC nursing2026
Interventions to improve mental health in caregivers of adult intensive care patients: a systematic review.
Article in BMC nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe stay of a close person at the ICU entails strong stress accompanied by anxiety, the sense of lack of control, and helplessness. Consequently, this may result in the development of a set of disorders which are described in the literature as post-intensive care syndrome–family (PICS-F). That is why interventions to improve mental health and prevent PICS-F are necessary and become more and more important.
methodsA systematic review was guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools for use in JBI Systematic Reviews and was conducted following the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Four databases were searched. Studies published in English between 2014 and 2025 were included. The final database searches were performed in February 2026.
resultsA total of 46 studies met the inclusion criteria. Most of them involved supportive/educational interventions, which took various forms (direct, by phone or via mobile devices). The results assessed in caregivers were diversified, similarly to tools used to measure those results. The majority of studies indicates solely a partial improvement in the caregiver outcome. In turn, if the studies reveal a positive effect, the researchers rarely specify the size of that effect.
conclusionThe available literature describes many interventions addressed to families of ICU patients. Some of the studies indicate that there is a potential in improving mental health status. Given large methodological differences in the studies, it is difficult to state unambiguously which of interventions are most effective and bring about the most permanent effect. It is necessary to continue a top quality RCT in this field in order to identify effective interventions which may be incorporated into everyday ICU practices. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: Effective communication with ICU patients’ family members and the provision of information can be crucial in clinical practice.
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.