The effect of informational support on anxiety and satisfaction among patients’ family members in the emergency room using path analysis

Abstract

This study was to determine the direct and indirect effect of informational support on the levels of anxiety and satisfaction of patients’ family members in the ER. A cross-sectional design was used involving 74 family members of patients in an ER. The respondents were selected by way of a purposive sampling technique. The study employed the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) and a satisfaction questionnaire to collect data. Path analysis was performed on the data analysis. The study findings show that informational support has a more direct (β = 0.599) than the indirect effect (β = 0.084) on family satisfaction. The results also reveal that informational support has a significant effect on the anxiety score and satisfaction of a patient's family members (p < 0.05). The quality and the quantity of informational support affects the levels of anxiety and satisfaction experienced by the family of a patient in the ER.