Psychological Distress and the Needs of Family Members of Critically Ill Patients in Emergency Departments During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: The literature highlights the importance of the needs of family members of critical patients in emergency departments. Understanding these needs helps to alleviate psychological distress and contribute to the patients’ recoveries. This study aimed to examine the psychological distress and needs of family members of critical patients in emergency departments. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to collect data using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21, the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory for the Emergency Department, and the Needs Met Inventory questionnaire from a convenience sample of 170 family members of critical patients. Descriptive analysis and importance-performance analysis were applied to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that 52.4% of family members reported mild to extremely severe levels of depression, 60% reported mild to extremely severe levels of anxiety, and 53.5% had mild to extremely severe levels of stress. Anxiety showed a significant negative correlation with comfort needs (r = −0.17) and support needs being met (r = −0.16). The importance-performance analysis showed that the coordinates for support needs were in quadrant IV, signifying a higher level of importance perceived by family members but a lower level of the needs being met. Conclusion: Providing the assessment and necessary support to alleviate psychological distress will help enhance the ability of the emergency department to meet families’ needs.