What relatives of older medical patients want us to know - a mixed-methods study.

This study provides knowledge of aspects relatives of older medical patients find particularly problematic and, further, of characteristics of relatives using the free-text field. Overall, these relatives were met with evasiveness from staff, an absence of care and felt invisible and unrecognised in the lacking collaboration with staff. Hence, strategies to ensure quality care and systematic involvement of relatives are needed, and the findings in this study may contribute to, and guide, quality improvement of family centered care in acute hospital wards.