Psychological reactions of family members of patients in critical care units in Zahedan

When patients are at high risk of dying, their families experience burdens such as decision making on treatment choices and concern about the patient's condition that can cause the families' psychological symptoms. the aim of this study was to assess the main psychological reaction of the patients' family members in intensive care units. this analytical study was conducted by using depression, anxiety and stress questionnaire (dass 42) on 244 family members of patients hospitalized in intensive care units in zahedan hospitals. the data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, statistical t-test, kruskal-wallis, and regression using the statistical software spss-16. overall, 68%, 57.3% and 46.7 percent of the patients' family members had moderate to very severe anxiety, depression and stress, respectively. the mean score of depression, anxiety and stress in the icu wards were significantly higher than that in ccu wards (p=0.001). the results of multivariate regression also showed that the only type of ward (icu, ccu) can be a good predictor of psychological reactions of the family members of patients. considering the fact that the admission of family members in hospitals, especially in the intensive care units, causes overwhelming psychological tension, the factors related to stress, anxiety and depression in the family members must be identified. to reduce the psychological reactions of family members, communication and psychological support through the use of family-centered care is necessary.