OBJECTIVE: to identify the occurrence of symptoms of anxiety and/or depression in relatives of patients admitted in an intensive care unit and correlate the presence of such symptoms with the relatives' gender, age, and with the total length of the patient's hospital stay. METHODS: The sample consisted of 39 relatives of critical patients. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used for data collection. RESULTS: 11 (28.2%) possible cases of anxiety, 17 (43.6%) probable cases of anxiety, (35.9%) possible cases of depressions and 7 (17.9%) probable cases of depression were identified. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: The emotional support and satisfaction of the relatives' necessities must be prioritized in the nursing care plan to prevent such disorders.
Anxiety; Depression; Professional-family relations; Intensive care units
