Relationships among Demographic, Clinical, and Psychological Factors Associated with Family Caregiver Readiness to Participate in ICU Care

There has been a paradigm shift to partner with family caregivers by actively involving them in the direct care of the patient throughout the critical illness trajectory. Before effectively engaging family members in patient care, clinicians must assess characteristics and circumstances that may affect caregiver readiness to assume a caregiving role in the ICU.To determine how demographic, clinical, and psychological factors are related to characteristics of family caregiver readiness to engage in ICU patient care.A convenience sample of ICU family caregivers of both adult and pediatric ICU patients was recruited for this cross-sectional study. Participants completed the following measures: PROMIS-29; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Caregiver Self-Efficacy Scale; Preparedness for Caregiving Scale; Patient Activation Measure for Caregivers; and Family Caregiver's Motives for Helping Scale. Data were collected via self-report at a single time point while the caregiver was visiting the critically ill patient in the ICU. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations.Caregivers (N=127) were primarily White (82.7%), females (77.2%), with a mean age of 51.8 (SD=15.6). Most were either spouses (37.8%) or parents (32.3%) of the ICU patient. Patients were primarily adult (76.4%) with a mean APACHE III of 45.9 (SD=22.5). There were significant (p<0.05) negative correlations between: depression, anxiety, and fatigue and all subscales of self-efficacy (Resilience r = -.18 to -.30; Self-Maintenance r = -.44 to -.63; Emotional Connectivity r = -.27 to -.41; Instrumental Giving r = -.34 to -.46) Caregiver depression was negatively correlated with caregiver activation (r = -.199) and caregiver preparedness (r = -.300). Social satisfaction was positively correlated (p<.05) with caregiving preparedness, motivation, and all subscales of self-efficacy (Preparedness r = .19; Motivation = .24; Resilience r = .21; Self-Maintenance r = .49; Emotional Connectivity r = .29; Instrumental Giving r = .36).We found that caregiver symptoms of depression, anxiety and fatigue are inversely related to caregiver preparation, motivation, and self-efficacy. In order to develop effective interventions for ICU family caregivers, further research is needed to understand the relationship between caregiver well-being, caregiving readiness, and caregiver involvement in patient care.