Table 4.

Benefits and consequences of family at the Bedside

Sub-theme	Quote
Role of family
Patient reliance on family for interpretation	PT 1 remarked: “I relied on my daughter (…) It was very easy for her to talk to the doctors and to talk to me about what we were talking about because she knew what we were going through.”
Family willingness to stay with hospitalized loved one and serve as interpreter	PT 3 said: “[My husband] felt great about [interpreting]. On the contrary, he didn’t want to leave the room after that. He would ask for a bed and a sofa to stay on. He just wanted to make sure I was still alive.”
Family has considerable influence on medical decision making	CL 3 noted: “Family has a huge influence in the care of the members of the community that are ill. It’s cultural.”
Family support system benefits
Having family present decreases patient isolation and anxiety	CL 3 said: “There was a female patient with a lot of anxiety and fear. Her huge concern or what helped this patient—this was (…) for the [family] to be there with the [patient], especially for Hispanic or Latino people because for them, family is very important. (…) When the team was notified about this, they arranged for a bed and for a family member to come and stay with her. With this, her status changed, and she was more relaxed, so they could continue with treatment.”
Family members provide additional cares	PT 1 noted: “[My daughter] was a great help because (…) she knew how, even, to clean my bag with the catheter. She learned to do it herself, so she came, washed me, and helped me.”
Family interpretation drawbacks
Functioning as an interpreter can be a burden to family members	CL 1 commented: “Honestly, they didn’t ask me if he needed a translator. For sure, they counted on me being there. They didn’t offer one, so I had to be there to translate for him.”
Family members may overestimate their English proficiency and interpreting abilities and can negatively impact communication	CG 5 remarked: “It’s clear to my mother and me that, for example, my brother can’t translate (…) Since he was trying to help, I think he thought, ‘I’ll make it easier for everyone, and I’ll translate it myself.’ (…) My mother doesn’t know how to determine if my brother has a good [English proficiency level]. If you are in a situation like that one, where you don’t know how to determine the person or the family’s [English proficiency], that will cause problems.”
When family member assumes the role of interpreting, he/she may also assume the responsibility of being a primary surrogate decision maker	CL 3 said: “[The family interpreter] is the person who is communicating for the family and is in charge of deciding, and keeping the family informed. Imagine a person of a certain age, communicating with the team, and the team asking questions, and the person telling the family about it. You have the family saying, ‘He is in charge.’ (…) He was carrying a very heavy weight when having to decide.”