Visiting policies:
· unrestricted number of visitors / 21 (24%) / 9 (18%) / 11 (17%) / 5 (10%) / 0.21
· visits by children permitted / 37 (42%) / 21 (42%) / 14 (22%) / 7 (13%) / < 0.01
· constant presence (day ± night) of parents of children admitted / 58 (89%) / 44 (98%) / 40 (77%) / 21 (67%) / < 0.01
Gowning procedures and hand washing:
· no gowning procedures or simplified gowning (overgowns and/or overshoes) / 41 (46%) / 20 (40%) / 25 (39%) / 17 (33%) / 0.47
· visitors required to wash hands on entering and leaving ICU / 62 (70%) / 27 (54%) / 47 (75%) / 30 (57%) / 0.05
Facilities for visitors:
· availability of bathroom and/or kitchen / 58 (65%) / 24 (48%) / 34 (53%) / 29 (54%) / 0.20
Information provision:
· availability of information tools / 67 (75%) / 39 (78%) / 38 (59%) / 26 (48%) / < 0.01
· structured first meeting with family on admission of patient / 72 (81%) / 40 (82%) / 54 (84%) / 49 (91%) / 0.44
· meeting with family on discharge of patient / 49 (56%) / 29 (58%) / 46 (73%) / 42 (79%) / 0.01
· possibility for patients to telephone / 37 (42%) / 17 (34%) / 26 (41%) / 10 (18%) / 0.03
Evaluation of visiting policy:
· use of satisfaction questionnaire for family / 23 (26%) / 14 (28%) / 18 (28%) / 14 (26%) / 0.98
· presence of working group for periodical revision of visiting policies in ICU / 25 (28%) / 15 (30%) / 15 (23%) / 10 (18%) / 0.48
· process of revision of visiting policies in ICU underway / 33 (38%) / 17 (34%) / 19 (30%) / 16 (30%) / 0.70
Table 5. ICU policies in relation to regional area