Effectiveness of Combining Family Support Programs and Health Education in Reducing Anxiety among Families of Patients in the ICU: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37287/ijghr.v8i4.1145Keywords:
anxiety, family, family support programs, health education, intensive care unitAbstract
Changes in the patient's condition, which can deteriorate or improve rapidly, often increase uncertainty and emotional pressure on the family including anxiety. Among various interventions, family support programs and health education can be implemented to reduce family anxiety. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of family support program and health education on anxiety in families of patients in the ICU. A systematic search was conducted across three databases (PubMed Central, ScienceDirect and Cochrane Library) for studies published up to 2023. Eligible studies met the following criteria (1) peer review studies in English and Indonesian; (2) involving adullt families treated in the ICU; (3) implementing family support programs or education; (4) standard care implemented in the control group; (5) measured variables include patient family anxiety; (6) quantitative experimental research; and (7) publications from 2015 to 2025. The screening process was conducted in two phases: title and abstract screening, followed by full-text assessment, with methodological quality evaluation. The tools used to measure bias risk were JBI and RoB 2. A total of 4,015 articles were identified, and only 8 of them met the criteria. Four articles discussed family support programs with an RCT design, and four articles discussed health education with quasi and pre-experimental designs. All articles showed a significant effect in reducing the anxiety of patients' families in the ICU. Future research is recommended to explore standardized intervention protocols and evaluate long-term outcomes.
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