Family members experience of Support while waiting for patients, surgery: Qualitative content analysis

When a person is undergoing a surgery, family and friends spend hours worrying and upset. Understanding what the family members are experiencing by nurses could help them provide better family centered care, which is an important goal of holistic care. Thus, this study aimed to explain support from perspective families of patients undergoing surgery. In this qualitative study, 17 family members were selected by purposive and theoretical sampling while they were waiting for patients, surgery. The study took place at university medical center hospital in an urban area of Iran. Semi structured interviews were held for data collection and date were analyzed using content analysis approach.Data analysis led to the development of four main themes; ‘different types of support’, ‘necessary support’, ‘physical proximity’, and ‘interaction’. This study presented new findings in the family members’ experiences, which can help healthcare professionals; especially nurses to better understand the subject and better facilitate the process.