Purpose: We examined the effects of a virtual family visit intervention on rehabilitation motivation, depression, family support, and patient and family satisfaction among stroke patients and their families in an Integrated Nursing Care Service rehabi...
Purpose: We examined the effects of a virtual family visit intervention on rehabilitation motivation, depression, family support, and patient and family satisfaction among stroke patients and their families in an Integrated Nursing Care Service rehabilitation ward.
M e t h o d s : This nonequivalent control group, non-synchronized pretest–post-tes t quasi-experimental study was conducted with multiple dyads consisting of 1 stroke patient admitted to an Integrated Nursing Care Service rehabilitation ward and recruited by convenience sampling from March 5, 2024 to June 30, 2025, and the patient’s family. This nurse-led virtual family visit intervention consisted of video calls between the patient and a family member, conducted 1–2 times per week for 8 weeks. In each session, using therapeutic communication methods, the nurse provided information about the patient’s condition, educated the family on active listening, empathy, support, and the use of I-messages, and offered conversation guidelines to promote functional communication so that the family could support the patient and engage in effective two-way communication. The effects of the intervention were evaluated by comparing rehabilitation motivation, depression, family support, patient satisfaction, and family satisfaction between groups, with a total of 28 dyads in the experimental group and 30 dyads in the control group (116 individuals) included in final analyses. Data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 31.0 with descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, independent t-tests, and covariate-adjusted generalized estimating equations.
Results: Compared with the control group, the experimental group that received virtual family visit intervention showed significantly greater improvements over time in rehabilitation motivation (p=.030), family support (p=.019), patient satisfaction (p=.012), and family satisfaction (p=.003). Changes in depression did not significantly differ between groups.
Conclusion: Facilitated virtual family visits were found to be an effective nursing intervention for enhancing rehabilitation motivation, family support, patient satisfaction, and family satisfaction among stroke patients in an Integrated Nursing Care Service rehabilitation ward. This intervention supports the efficacy of family-centered nursing and underscores the need to develop standardized protocols, provide education to strengthen nurses’ communication competencies, and offer support to improve digital accessibility for patients and families receiving clinical care.