Capstone Project: Preliminary Literature Review

Capstone Project Preliminary Literature Review
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Capstone Project Preliminary Literature Review
Part I. Preliminary Literature Review
Recently, the policies of restricted visitation in intensive care units (ICUs) have attracted moral debates about the rights of patients and their families. Patients in ICU’s have a few days to live, and it is morally advisable that they spend maximum time with their families and friends. Currently, the definition of a family ranges from close relatives, friends, or the patient’s pets that are likely to offer consolation and comfort to the patient in the critical care. This study will investigate the open visitation policies in ICUs with the goal of investigating the possibility of positive outcomes. There is a profound literature that open visitation hours have positive impact to the welfare of the patient and the visitors, leading to a positive outcome.
Adineh, M., Toulabbi, T., Pournia, Y., & Baraz, S. (2016). The effect of family presence during pediatric intensive care unit bedside on family general health: A clinical trial study. International Journal of Pediatrics, 4(5), 1809-1817.
This research article contributes to the research topic by providing evidence on how the presence of families in the ICU fosters a positive response to the patient and the family members in coping with stress and anxiety that accompanies chronic diseases.
Research Design and Methods
Adineh, Toulabbi, and Desmartis (2017) carried out a clinical trial study on forty-six families with families hospitalized in ICUs. The goal was to establish the relationship between visitation to the ICU and the response of the patient and the family members. The study was conducted between 2009 and 2011. The researchers divided participant families into two random groups and assigned one as a control group and the other the intervention group. Additionally, the exclusion criteria involved the death of the family member, unwillingness to continue in the group, and referral of patient to another facility.
The study group was exposed to family visits for twelve visits, while the control group was left unattended to. The researchers evaluated the health of participants in each group during the first, sixth, and twelfth weeks using the general health questionnaire and demographic questionnaires. The GHQ questionnaire had four items, each drawing the participant to the impact of presence in the ICU on the participant’s health and the patient. Analytical statistics was later done using SPSS 18.0 for the data collected from the study. The mean from GHQs indicated that the control group scored lower compared to the intervention group. Adineh et al. (2017) concluded that presence of the family member in the ICU yields positive impact on the patient and the family member. This study is in line with the thesis of this research, that unrestricted hours of visitations in ICUs have a positive impact on patients and their families.
Barron, Y., M. (2016). Extending hospital visiting hours. Health Systems and Policy Research.
This peer-reviewed study contributes to the research topic by comparing the hours of visitation in ICUs in North America to the hours of visitation in the European countries. European policy allows a maximum of five hours, while North America is 2 hours forty-five minutes. An analysis on outcomes based on difference in visitation hours can be used for informed-decision-making.
Research Design and Methods
Baron (2016) conducted a literature search on the visiting hours in the ICUs in the United Kingdom and the United States. The researcher wanted to compare the perception of open visitation and the associated outcome on patient care and the response to medication. A total of two hundred peer-reviewed articles were scrutinized in the study. The consensus in the articles revealed that presence of family members in ICUs created less stress and anxiety. Additionally, the researcher found that patients responded positively in regions where there was extended visitation hours compared to areas with restricted visitation.
Baron’s study adds a significant contribution to the topic of this research. The finding of the study is in line with the thesis of the research, where it is expected that unrestricted hours policy has a positive impact on the patient and the family members. This reviewed article will be used alongside other articles in the study to reinforce the argument for open-hour visitation.
Belanger, L., Bussieres, S., Rainville, F., Coulombe, M., & Desmartis, M. (2017). Hospital visiting policies – impacts on patients, families and staff: A review of the literature to inform decision making. Journal of Hospital Administration, 6(6).
Belanger, Busieres, Rainville, Coulombe, and Desmartis (2017) wanted to prove that patients and family members can be partners in ICU. This study contributes to the research topic by proving that the existing literature on open hour policy in hospitals is long overdue.
Research Design and Methods
In this study, Belanger et al. (2017) performed a literature search from PubMed and CINAHL to identify synthesized studies on open hour policies. Two independent reviewers selected and excluded studies. In case where they disagreed, a third independent evaluator was used. The researchers then assessed data collection in the sample articles and the quality of publications to remain with only quality articles. Two hundred and seventy-six research articles were included in the study. The findings from the study revealed a close association between open-hour policies in ICUs and the positive outcomes on patients. They concluded that family members and relatives should not be treated as visitors in ICUs. Instead, there open-hour policy should allow them to be treated as partners in ICUs. This study adds a significant contribution to the topic of this research. The finding of the study is in line with the thesis of the research. Unrestricted hour policy has a positive impact on the patient and the family members.
Khareghparast et al. (2016). Visiting hour’s policies in intensive care units: exploring participants’ views. International Journal of Medical Research &Health Sciences, 5 (5).
The topic of open-hour policies in ICUs has drawn moral concerns from family members and friends of relatives. In this study, Khalekhparast et al. (2016) wanted to establish a link between open-hour visitation and the impact of hours spent together on the stress level management in both the family member and the patient. The relevance of this study is to reinforce the thesis of the study; that open-hour policies contribute to positive outcomes in patients and their family members.
Research Design and Methods
Kharekhparast’ et. al.’s qualitative study sought to investigate the impact of presence of family members in intensive care units. This article is relevant to the study because it investigates the relationship between family members in Cardiac ICUs and its impact on patients. The study will contribute to the study by helping address how patient-centered care in ICUs can contribute to positive outcomes for patients in ICUs and their relatives.
The researchers recruited a total of fifty-one participants in this study. Fourteen patients and sixteen family members were recruited, and the remaining were hospital staff at the Cardiac ICU facility. A semi-structured interview was conducted on patients, family members, nurses, and hospital staff who had volunteered in the study. Participants responded to open-ended questions and the collected data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The study established that restricted visitation has an advantage on patients and family members. Nurses considered that restricted visitation fostered patients’ safety and minimized infections on family members.
Liu, V., Read, J., L., Scruth, E., & Cheng, E. (2013). Visitation policies and practices in US ICUs. Critical Care, 17 (2).
The relevance of this research article to the study is to help reinforce other articles that address the need for open-hour visitations in U.S hospitals. The study is narrows down to ICUs in more than six hundred hospitals in the United States.
Research Design and Methods
Liu, Scruth, Read, and Cheng (2013) carried out a phone interview on six hundred and ninety-five hospitals in the United States. The researchers surveyed databases in the United States to establish the relatio...