PARTNER: Nurse Participation and Professional Experience During Family Conferences in Intensive Care: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Effective communication during family conferences (FC) in the intensive care unit (ICU) is essential for supporting families and fostering trust. Although nurses are continuously present at the bedside, their active participation in FC remains limited, structurally constrained and underexplored from the perspective of healthcare professionals. Aim This study aimed to explore the factors shaping ICU nurses' participation in family conferences. Study Design This French single‐centre qualitative interpretive study used semi‐structured interviews with nurses and physicians. Transcripts were analysed using a thematic approach combining inductive and deductive coding, managed with NVivo software and reviewed by a multidisciplinary team. Findings Nineteen HCP participated (14 nurses and 5 physicians). Three axes shaped HCP experience of FC: organizational conditions (setting, time and exclusion from ethical deliberation), interpersonal dynamics with families (comprehension, trust and relational skills) and interprofessional dynamics (nurses' specific role, barriers, facilitators and benefits of their involvement). Nurses did not express dissatisfaction but identified structural constraints limiting their participation, alongside a clear sense of their own legitimacy. Facilitators included clinical experience, physician trust and structured FC. Barriers included limited speaking opportunities, fear of contradicting physicians and exclusion from ethics meetings. When nurses participated actively, HCP perceived consistent benefits: team coherence, richer communication and strengthened family trust. Conclusions ICU nurses' participation in family conferences is primarily shaped by organisational and interprofessional conditions rather than by their willingness or competence. Structural barriers limit their active involvement despite consistent recognition of their contribution by both professional groups. Relevance to Clinical Practice These findings provide an empirical foundation for developing structured co‐facilitation models between physicians and nurses during family conferences, and highlight key organisational conditions to address in daily ICU practice.