Written Communication in the Intensive Care Unit

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Communication; Satisfaction, Patient; Burnout
• Interventions: Other: Written Communication

• Registration Number: NCT05636371
• Lead Sponsor: Rush University Medical Center

Brief Summary

The goal of this study is to compare the experience of intensive care unit (ICU) families and care providers before and after the implementation of an approach whereby clinicians initiate written communication with families

The main questions it aims to answer are

1. Is ICU care-provider initiated written communication feasible and acceptable to participants?

2. Does ICU care-provider initiated written communication affect the experience of families and care providers?

Participants will complete surveys and participate in interviews during a 3 month pre-implementation phase and a 3 month post-implementation phase

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-10-31
• Study Start: 2022-11-01
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-11-23
• Study First Posted: 2022-12-05
• Primary Completion: 2023-05-19
• Study Completion: 2023-07-01
• Status Verified: 2023-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-08-29
• Last Update Posted: 2023-08-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 166

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Written Communication	Written Communication	ICU care providers will initiate the process for providing written communication to families. Study investigators will facilitate the creation and distribution of written communication

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)	3 months after the intervention	The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is a 22-item survey measuring symptoms of burnout. The MBI has been validated for a variety of professions. The MBI has been used in past studies in the ICU to evaluate the level of burnout present among critical care clinicians and to assess for the effectiveness of interventions attempting to alleviate the degree of burnout syndrome. This survey examines the participant's perception of their work, physical and emotional exhaustion, sense of personal accomplishment, and degree of depersonalization. Items are presented as single statements, such as "I feel worn out at the end of a working day," and are rated on a scale of 0 to 6 with 0 being "never" and 6 being "every day."
Family Inpatient Communication Survey (FICS)	10 days after ICU admission	The Family Inpatient Communication Survey (FICS) is a 30-item survey measuring of the quality of communication with the treatment team from the perspective of families of hospitalized patients. Items on this survey measure the informational and emotional aspects of communication, and each item of this survey is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The FICS has been validated in a study of 350 surrogates of hospitalized adults demonstrating the high internal reliability, predictive validity, and high item completion rates of this survey.
Nurse-Physician Collaboration Scale (NPCS)	3 months after the intervention	The Nurse-Physician Collaboration Scale (NPCS) is a 27-item survey measuring the level of collaboration between nurses and physicians based on three categories: joint participation in the decision-making process, the sharing of patient information, and cooperativeness.Items on this survey are rated on a 5-point scale with responses ranging from always to never. The NPCS has been validated in a study of 446 physicians and 1217 nurses at 27 hospitals.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The Acceptability, Appropriateness and Feasibility of Intervention Survey (AIM, IAM and FIM)	3 months after the intervention	Care providers will complete this 12-item psychometric assessment. Implementation science researchers have established the benchmarks and acceptance of this scale.
The Post Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ)	3 months after the intervention	The Post Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) is a 16-item PSSUQ survey that measures the acceptance of new technology. PSSUQ measures perception of information quality, interface quality, and overall intervention usefulness. Lewis et al have published on the high internal validity and sensitivity of this scale since 1992.
The User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ)	3 months after the intervention	The User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) is a 8-item scale to measure the overall user experience of the family member(s) who used the communication intervention. The UEQ measures user experience on items including attractiveness, perspicuity, efficiency, dependability, stimulation, and novelty. UEQ has high internal validity and has been benchmarked across numerous usability and user experience evaluation studies.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Rush University Medical Center; 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States