Evaluating the Needs of Military and Veterans' Families in a Polytrauma Setting

Objective: To examine the perceived importance of needs and the extent to which they are met among a sample of family members in an inpatient polytrauma setting. Method: The Family Needs Questionnaire was administered to 44 family members of patients at the Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center over a 30-month period. Results: Families rated health information needs as most important and most frequently met. conversely, family members rated emotional support and instrumental support needs as least important and most frequently unmet. Conclusion: Preliminary data suggest that the similarity between family needs in military and civilian settings is noteworthy, and provide direction for development of empirically based family intervention models for polytrauma settings.