The Impact of Randomized Family-Centered Interventions on Family-Centered Outcomes in the Adult Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review.

To review the literature for randomized family-centered interventions with family-centered outcomes in the adult intensive care unit (ICU). We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library database from inception until February 2023. We included articles involving randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the adult critical care setting evaluating family-centered interventions and reporting family-centered outcomes. We extracted data on author, year of publication, setting, number of participants, intervention category, intervention, and family-centered outcomes. There were 52 RCTs included in the analysis, mostly involving communication and receiving information (38%) and receiving care and meeting family member needs (38%). Nearly two-thirds of studies (N = 35; 67.3%) found improvements in at least 1 family-centered outcome. Most studies (N = 24/40; 60%) exploring the impact of family-centered interventions on mental health outcomes showed improvement. Improvements in patient-centered outcomes (N = 7/17; 41%) and healthcare worker outcomes (N = 1/5; 20%) were less commonly found. Family-centered interventions improve family-centered outcomes in the adult ICU and may be beneficial to patients and healthcare workers.