Staff Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Family Visitation After Implementation of a Formal Visitation Policy in the PACU

A quality improvement project was created to examine staff attitudes and beliefs regarding visitation after implementation of a formal visitation policy in the PACU. A 10-item questionnaire was distributed and collected from each staff member in the PACU after implementation of the formal policy. Results showed that although 83.7% of staff would want the option to visit their family member in the PACU, only 47% of staff believe that families should have the option to visit in their own PACU. The perceived barriers reported by staff were staffing issues, the possibility of exposure to infection, privacy issues, staff anxiety, the possibility of visitors witnessing resuscitation, and lack of education of families. The survey results show that more existing education is needed. Consequently, the current policy is posted in all waiting areas for families, and a mandatory in-service was created and presented to staff on how to communicate effectively with family members.

Keywords: family visitation, staff attitudes, perceived barriers, PACU