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. 2025 Mar 3;13:1434440. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1434440

Table 2.

The PS-ICU scale items was loaded using principal axis exploratory factor analysis with Oblimin direct rotation (with the preliminary exclusion of items #10, #18, #29, #39.)

Items Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6
6 Shortage of beds in the unit 0.85
8 Inadequate or under-equipped healthcare space or defective materials 0.84
26 Family whose beliefs or lifestyle are contradictory with my values or the functioning of the unit 0.84
27 Family’s misunderstanding of the gravity of the diagnosis or the prognosis of the patient 0.84
32 Lack of staff 0.80
33 Non-supportive, aggressive or delirious patient 0.76
41 Caring for a patient who should not be treated by the ICU 0.76
34 Death of a patient with whom I had developed specialties 0.75
35 Family which does not trust me or does not trust the team 0.75
42 Uncertainty concerning the diagnosis or the therapy project of the patient 0.74
7 Families’ distress or emotions 0.83
28 Series of patient deaths in the unit over a short period 0.80
31 Changes in the modalities of care or the therapy project depending on the doctor responsible for the patient 0.78
50 Being on call or working nights 0.78
37 Having to perform tasks for which I have neither knowledge nor skills 0.77
43 Lack of respect for the patient (against his/her wishes, his/her integrity, his/her situation, etc.) 0.76
49 Decision to stop or reduce treatment 0.76
44 Patient suffering physically or psychologically 0.75
45 Having to announce a bad diagnosis to the patient or his/her family or be present when such a diagnosis is announced 0.69
46 Lack of equality in the distribution of tasks among healthcare professionals 0.66
15 Lack of support from the administration 0.83
13 Difficulty to find my place, have my skills recognized, or voice my opinion within the team 0.82
17 Negative atmosphere prevailing in the team, gossip, rumours within the team 0.80
21 Conflicts with members of the healthcare team 0.79
14 Noisy environment 0.79
12 Incomprehensible or unnecessary care relative to the patient’s situation 0.77
38 Assessed or judged by the other members of the team 0.77
9 Disagreement and/or lack of coordination with other units concerning a patient’s treatment 0.74
11 Too many professionals around the patient in an emergency situation 0.49
20 Working pace or working hours hardly compatible with family or social life 0.81
23 Schedule changes, overtime 0.78
24 Working while experiencing difficult personal events 0.78
30 Powerlessness or incompetence in supporting families 0.72
47 Unsuitable or under-equipped space to receive families 0.72
36 Continuous and heavy workload 0.71
48 Accumulated workloads resulting from clinical activity, training, research or teaching 0.70
16 Risk of error, fear of doing a poor job 0.82
25 Patient who deteriorates in an unexpected or unexplained manner 0.78
22 Conflicts with members of the healthcare team 0.78
40 Treating complex or serious pathologies 0.78
19 Plaintive patient who makes many requests 0.77
1 Socially isolated end-of-life patient or one with no immediate family 0.81
2 Colleague not doing his/her work properly 0.80
3 Lack of recognition (from the patient, the family, the team, the hierarchy) 0.78
4 Contradictory information given by other healthcare professionals to the family 0.78
5 Caring for young patients or who have young children 0.75

Factor 1 = lack of fit with families and the organizational functioning; Factor 2 = emotional load associated with patient and family; Factor 3 = difficulties associated with team working; Factor 4 = issues associated with workload and human resource management; Factor 5 = issues associated with complex/at-risk situations and skill; Factor 6 = suboptimal care situations.