Relationship between perceived stress and health literacy on family satisfaction among family members of critically ill patients: A multicenter exploratory study.

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) admission is often a stressful experience that can negatively influence family satisfaction (FS) with patient care, communication, and decision-making. Health literacy (HL) is associated with the patient's ability to obtain, process, and understand health-related information. Few studies have explored the influence of perceived stress and HL on FS simultaneously.

Objective: To examine the association of perceived stress and HL with FS among family members of ICU patients.

Design: A multicenter exploratory cross-sectional study.

Methods: An exploratory, cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted in three ICUs from different hospitals in Chile. Family members of ICU patients with ≥48 h of stay and respiratory support were eligible. The Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit-24 questionnaire and the Perceived Stress Scale were used. HL was evaluated using three screening questions. Multiple beta regressions were fit to explore the association between perceived stress, HL, and FS.

Results: A total of 101 family members with 63.4% identified as at risk of low HL were included. Multiple beta regression revealed that low HL was not associated with FS. Conversely, FS was negatively associated with perceived stress, being admitted to the ICU of the central or southern region, and having a close personal relationship with a healthcare provider but positively associated with the number of communications with ICU staff.

Conclusions: While perceived stress can be detrimental to FS, HL seems not to impact FS levels among family members of ICU patients. Further studies are required to explore the influence of HL on FS.

Implications Of The Clinical Practice: This study advances the knowledge regarding variables affecting FS in the ICU. Evaluating the family members' emotional status may help ICU healthcare providers in the allocation of resources to support family members and to properly assess their satisfaction.

Patient Or Public Contribution: Family members of ICU patients participated in this study.