Guidelines Patient and Family Support Quality and Patient Safety

Guidelines on Family-Centered Care for Adult ICUs: 2024

David Y. Hwang, MD, FAAN, FNCS, FCCM Ramona O. Hopkins, PhD

PUBLISHED: 02/21/2025

Guidelines on Family-Centered Care for Adult ICUs: 2024

Citation:

Hwang DY, Oczkowski SJW, Lewis K, et al. Society of Critical Care Medicine guidelines on family-centered care for adult ICUs: 2024. Crit Care Med. 2025;53(2):e465-e482.

For staff in adult ICUs, providing family-centered care is an essential skill that affects important outcomes for both patients and families. The COVID-19 pandemic placed unprecedented strain on care of ICU families. Family engagement and support practices are still adjusting These guidelines review updated evidence for family support in adult ICUs, provide clear recommendations, and spotlight optimal family-centered care practices post-pandemic.

The guidelines panel issued one strong recommendation, 14 conditional recommendations, and two best practice statements related to family-centered care in adult ICUs. The guidelines panel reaffirmed the critical importance of liberalized family presence policies when possible and suggested options for family attendance on rounds and participation in bedside care. The panel suggested that ICUs provide support for families in the form of educational programs; ICU diaries; and mental health, bereavement, and spiritual support. The panel suggested the importance of providing structured communication for families and communication training for clinicians but did not recommend for or against any specific clinician-facing tools for family support or decision aids, based on current available evidence. The panel recommended that adult ICUs implement practices to systematically identify and reduce barriers to equitable critical care delivery for families and suggested that programs be developed to support the well-being of clinicians responsible for family support.

Guideline Type: Clinical

Related Resources:

Download the Guidelines on Family-Centered Care for Adult ICUs Gap Analysis Toolkit

Read Full Guideline

Author

David Y. Hwang, MD, FAAN, FNCS, FCCM

David Y. Hwang, MD, FAAN, FNCS, FCCM, is the division chief of neurocritical care at the University of North Carolina and was a faculty member in the Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology at the Yale School of Medicine from 2012 to 2022. His academic interests include the improvement of surrogate decision-making in ICUs and support of families of ICU patients.

He is a past recipient of the American Brain Foundation Practice Research Training Fellowship, the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) Research Training Fellowship, the Robert G. Siekert New Investigator Award in Stroke at the International Stroke Conference, and a Patient and Family Support Abstract Award at SCCM’s Critical Care Congress. He was a recent chair of the American Academy of Neurology Critical Care and Emergency Neurology Section, a member of the NCS board of directors, and a recent chair of the SCCM Patient and Family Support Committee.

Author

Ramona O. Hopkins, PhD

Ramona O. Hopkins, PhD, is a professor in the psychology department and neuroscience center at Brigham Young University (BYU). In 2020, she received BYU’s Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Lecturer Award. Dr. Hopkins has contributed to two published books, written over 200 scholarly articles, edited 30 book chapters, and published hundreds more abstracts, editorials, and other publications.

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