This study aimed to interpret, in the experience the family has at the intensive care unit, the sensitivity of professionals regarding their need for information. We held open interviews with 21 adults, family members of adults hospitalized in intensive care. The analysis and interpretation of the narratives, with the support of the software Nvivo8(r), was undertaken in accordance with the phenomenological approach suggested by Van Manen. Two situations were found: the presence and absence of information. The family states that the sensitivity of the professional was essential in the response to their needs. The care taken in the content that it is transmitted and how it is transmitted were significant in the experience lived. Knowledge of the family's true and potential needs is decisive in the professional practice of nurses. Answering the need for information was essential in the transition process experienced in view of the family's member's health-disease.
Family; Information; Intensive care; Nursing
