Mental Health Needs of Families of Patients in Intensive Care Units and the Role of Mobile Health: Survey Study.

Family members of ICU patients experienced elevated anxiety and depression (AD) levels, which were higher during ICU stay than after discharge.

• Mean scores of family AD levels were elevated across the sample
• AD levels were higher among family members during the ICU stay than after discharge, though mental health challenges were reduced post-discharge
• 97 responses were collected over 6 months using a convenience sampling strategy
• Participants represented a spectrum of ages, relationships to patients, and races (n=78, 80% White; n=17, 18% Black; n=2, 2% other races)

Family satisfaction with patient health updates and mental health services was moderate, with phone communication scoring lower on average.

• Mean score for remote families' satisfaction with patient health updates from the bedside and mental health services was 2.94 (SD 1.31)
• Mean scores for phone communication were lower on average than for other communication modalities
• Families were described as 'highly dissatisfied with the frequency of health updates'

Transportation difficulties were negatively correlated with family satisfaction with the frequency of patient health information provided.

• A negative correlation was found between transportation difficulties and satisfaction with the frequency of information provided (r=-0.284; P=.005)
• The finding suggests that with the increase in transportation challenges, families become less satisfied with the frequency of patient health information
• Lower satisfaction with information frequency was also reported among those who lived further from the hospital

Family members expressed strong interest in using mHealth information and communication services.

• Mean interest in using mHealth information and communication services was 8.34 (SD 1.98) on a numeric scale
• Mean interest in having easy access to social workers via mHealth to manage AD was 8.29 (SD 2.03)
• Interest was expressed in mHealth features including real-time bedside information, communication with bedside nurses, and connections with social workers

Higher levels of family anxiety during patients' ICU stays were significantly associated with greater interest in multiple mHealth app features.

• Family members experiencing higher anxiety during ICU stays had significantly greater interest in an mHealth app providing direct access to social workers (r=0.326; P<.001)
• Higher anxiety was also correlated with interest in using an mHealth videoconferencing app (r=0.319; P=.002)
• Higher anxiety was correlated with overall mHealth app use interest (r=0.322; P<.001)
• The correlations were described as 'modest but statistically significant'

The study sample included patients admitted for a variety of conditions including cancer, COVID-19, and other conditions.

• Approximately 17% (n=16) of patients were admitted for cancer
• 13% (n=13) were admitted for COVID-19
• 21% (n=20) were admitted for other conditions
• A 36-question quantitative survey was used to collect data, analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics