This research was performed with the family assessment tool at critical and emergency care settings (CNS-FACE) as a standard tool at the ICU of Hospital A. It clarified changes in the awareness and practice of family support by staff in order to obtain clues to how to provide family support in the future.
  Initially, a briefing session was held to acquaint nurses with CNS-FACE. A total of 28 nurses assigned to the ICU were invited to the session. They were informed of the importance of using CNS-FACE to understand the family needs and coping. The staff members were requested to use CNS-FACE to obtain an objective assessment of patients' families selected at random by the nursing research members. Subsequently, questionnaires were distributed to investigate the changes in the nurses' awareness. Those who reported a change in relationship with the families after using CNS-FACE accounted for 100% of the nurses with one to three years' experience, 64% of the urses with four to six years' experience, and 50 % of the nurses with seven or more years' experience. An understanding of the 46 items in CNS-FACE was thought to lead to more positive intervention awareness. It was believed that this would result in a reduction in stress for nurses providing family nursing and to bring about a change in their awareness of family nursing, irrespective of their number of years of nursing experience. CNS-FACE gave the nurses with one to six years' experience with an objective understanding of needs and coping and changed their awareness of family nursing. A change of awareness was achieved by 50% of the nurses with seven or more years' experience. Over 60 % of the staff members recognized CNS-FACE to br effective for family nursing.