Table 1.

Characteristics and findings of qualitative study included in scoping review.

References	Country	Study design	Participants	Findings
Lange et al. (15)	Poland	Qualitative study (semi-structure interviews)	8 family members	✓ Inadequate education and information, ✓ The benefit of obtaining prior information, ✓ Surprise, shock, and anger at the change in a relative's behavior.
Leigh et al. (16)	Canada	Qualitative descriptive study (focus groups)	3 family members	✓ Family detection of delirium is feasible and of value for patient care and coping by family members. ✓ Actively involving family members in delirium detection at the bedside may improve outcomes and experiences for both patients and family members.
Huang et al. (17)	Taiwan	Qualitative descriptive study (semi-structure interviews)	20 family caregivers	✓ Uncertainty among family caregivers of patients with delirium in ICUs can lead to feelings of fear and anxiety.
Pandhal et al. (18)	England	Qualitative descriptive study (semi-structure interviews)	9 relatives	✓ Lack of understanding about delirium amongst family members and how they could have supported delirium management. ✓ Families were keen to be involved in delirium. ✓ Interventions such as video-ICU delirium education have been found to be effective in educating family members about delirium management.
Hume (19)	South Africa	Qualitative study (semi-structured interviews, unstructured observation and and focus groups)	2 family members	✓ The negative impact of the physical environment and pacing culture in intensive care. ✓ Damaging mistrust
Bohart et al. (20)	Danish	Qualitative study (semi-structure interviews)	11 relatives	✓ Lack of knowledge about delirium, ✓ Delirium as a second order problem, ✓ Lack of information on delirium by medical staff. ✓ Varied nature of delirium and different ways of dealing with it
Page et al. (21)	UK	Qualitative study (in-depth interviews)	15 family members	✓ Relatives experience the events associated with ICU hospitalization (including those associated with delirium) in a very real and ingraining manner. ✓ Family members may experience a different version of a critical illness episode than their relatives (patients).
Smithburger et al. (22)	United States	Qualitative study (purposeful sampling, interview)	10 family members	✓ Families of ICU patients want to be involved in the care and prevention of delirium. ✓ Need for communication between family and nursing staff