Purpose: Providing an overview of studies on family participation in physiotherapy-related tasks of critically ill
patients, addressing two research questions (RQ): 1) What are the perceptions of patients, relatives, and staff
about family participation in physiotherapy-related tasks? and 2) What are the effects of interventions of family
participation in physiotherapy-related tasks?
Material and methods: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods articles were identified using PubMed,
Embase and CINAHL. Studies reporting on family participation in physiotherapy-related tasks of adult critically
ill patients were included. A convergent segregated approach for mixed-methods reviews was used.
Results: Eighteen articles were included; 13 for RQ1, and 5 for RQ2. The included studies were quantitative, qualitative
and mixed-method, including between 8 and 452 participants. The descriptive studies exhibit a general
appreciation for involvement of relatives in physiotherapy-related tasks, although most of the studies reported
on family involvement in general care and incorporated diverse physiotherapy-related tasks. One study explored
the effectiveness of family participation on a rehabilitation outcome and showed that the percentage of patients
mobilizing three times a day increased.
Conclusion: Positive attitudes were observed among patients, their relatives and staff towards family participation
in physiotherapy-related tasks of critically ill patients. However, limited research has been done into the effect
of interventions containing family participation in physiotherapy-related tasks.