THE ROLE OF A NURSE FACILITATED CRISIS SUPPORT GROUP FOR FAMILY MEMBERS OF CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS IN DECREASING PERCEIVED STATE ANXIETY AND IMPROVING COPING ABILITY.
Contributors: University of Texas at Austin.
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 161
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this study was to determine whether participants in a nurse facilitated crisis support group for family members of hospitalized, critically ill patients experienced significantly less state anxiety and more coping ability than non-participants. The conceptual framework was a revision of the Double ABCX Model of Family Adaptation (McCubbin and Patterson, 1983). The study design was a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group. The sample consisted of 61 adult family members of hospitalized, critically ill patients. There were twenty-nine subjects in the control group and thirty-two in the experimental group. The experimental group participated in a nurse facilitated crisis support group for three consecutive days (45 minutes each day). All participants were pretested and posttested with the State Anxiety Inventory (pretest $\alpha$ =.91; posttest $\alpha$ =.91) and the Jaloweic Coping Scale (pretest $\alpha$ =.64; posttest $\alpha$ =.65). The following subscales of the Jaloweic Coping Scale were also examined: the confrontive coping subscale (pretest $\alpha$ =.62; posttest $\alpha$ =.76), the emotive coping subscale (pretest $\alpha$ =.65; posttest $\alpha$ =.60), and the palliative coping subscale (pretest $\alpha$ =.71; posttest $\alpha$ =.70). With patient age and pretest scores as covariates, group scores were analyzed by analyses of covariance (p $<$.05). The findings were that participants in a nurse facilitated crisis support group for family members of critically ill patients reported significantly less state anxiety, used significantly more confrontive coping techniques, and used significantly less emotive coping techniques than nonparticipants. The groups did not differ on total coping scores or palliative coping subscale scores.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-10, Section: B, page: 2923.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, 1987.

School code: 0227.