Evolution of Visiting the Intensive Care Unit

This article gives a historical perspective of visitation in the intensive care unit (ICU) since the establishment of critical care units. Initially, visitors were not allowed because it was thought to be harmful to the patient. Despite the evidence, ICUs with open visitation have consistently been...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Critical care clinics Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 541 - 558
Main Author:	Milner, Kerry A.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Elsevier Inc 01-07-2023
Subjects:	COVID-19 COVID-19 visitor restrictions Family Family presence Family-centered care Humans Intensive care unit Intensive Care Units Open visitation Pandemics Patient-centered care Visitors to Patients Family presence COVID-19 visitor restrictions Open visitation Intensive care unit Patient-centered care Family-centered care
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	This article gives a historical perspective of visitation in the intensive care unit (ICU) since the establishment of critical care units. Initially, visitors were not allowed because it was thought to be harmful to the patient. Despite the evidence, ICUs with open visitation have consistently been in the minority and the COVID-19 pandemic halted progress in this area. Virtual visitation was introduced during the pandemic to maintain family presence, but limited evidence suggests that this is not equivalent to in-person visitation. Going forward ICUs and health systems must consider family presence policies that allow for visitation under any circumstance.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:	0749-0704 1557-8232
DOI:	10.1016/j.ccc.2023.01.005