Revisiting visiting in intensive therapy units

Parental presence and visiting policies in Italian pediatric intensive care units: A national survey*

“…Undoubtedly, practical elements may also come into play, such as lack of space; Italian hospitals have a high average age, as 57% of them have been built before 1940 (8). Nevertheless, although the problem of insufficient space was raised by a majority of ICUs surveyed in the United Kingdom (14), they still had significantly more liberal policies. Overall, these data may indicate that, in Italian PICUs, there is still limited attention to the comfort of families of patients.…”

The needs of children visiting on adult intensive care units: a review of the literature and recommendations for practice

“…The nursing staff also felt that the child's visit could have an adverse physiological effect on the patient. A more recent, replicated survey undertaken by Plowright (1996) found that the respondents did not appear to know the reasons why children were not allowed to visit, although several stated that it was because the`nurse in charge' did not approve. The units in the survey that sometimes allowed children to visit imposed restriction based on the age of the child, the presumed psychological trauma to the child, the noise the child might make and the risks of infection to both the child and the patient.…”

“…Flexible, open visiting policies are advocated throughout the nursing literature as a positive intervention to help family members adjust and cope with the crisis and stress of critical illness (Dyer 1991). But, recent surveys show that the children within the family group are still restricted from visiting on many adult intensive care units (ICUs) throughout the United Kingdom (UK) (Biley et al 1993, Plowright 1996. Imposing restrictive visiting policies does not respect the rights of patients and their families to be together and support each other during a period of stress and crisis.…”

Visiting practices in hospitals

“…While in the UK, three decades later, work by Biley et al (1993) and Plowright (1996) identified that restrictive visiting policies were still in place across many intensive care unit (ICU) settings. A telephone survey of 50 ICUs in southern England highlighted that nurses had many negative beliefs and attitudes (Plowright, 1996). Arguments against having open visiting centred on the ICU being too busy, visitors getting in the way and visitors ‘taking up too much nursing time’.…”