Abstract
Background: The presence of family members during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) of an adult patient remains a contentious area of practice that has attracted wide international debate. However, the attitude and experience of Jordanian nurses concerning this area of practice are not known yet.
Method: This descriptive quantitative study was aimed at identifying the attitudes and experiences of Jordanian nurses toward the presence of family members during CPR of adult patients. A questionnaire that was developed by Fulbrook et al was completed by 136 nurses.
Results: There were 91.9% (n = 125) nurses who did not have any experience or a protocol or policy document on family presence during CPR and 97.7% (n = 133) nurses stated that they did not have any experience of inviting a family member to be present during CPR. Also, the result of this study revealed that Jordanian nurses had negative attitudes toward the presence of family members during CPR of an adult patient.
Conclusions: Before initiating hospital policy regarding the option of family presence during resuscitation, attitudes and experiences of patients and relatives on witnessed resuscitation should be explored. Also, educating nurses about the importance of practicing to have the presence of family members during CPR of adult patients should be considered.