Improve Communicating Uncertainty in Intensive Care Unit With Patient and Family (ICU-PF)

Abstract

Communicating uncertainty with patients and families in the intensive care unit is challenging and requires time and skill to convey the information. This proposal aims to provide a structured path for identifying and communicating uncertainty with patients and families in the unit. The focus is to improve the quality of care and timely communication to meet the expectations and needs of families and patients. The project focuses on the first 24 hours of intensive care unit admission to improve communication of uncertainty. By utilizing the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle, the workflow uses a screening tool to identify uncertainty and communicate using evidence-based recommendations and the mnemonic VALUE (Value family statements, Acknowledge emotions, Listen, Understand the patient as a person, Elicit questions) as the standard of care. The workflow can be incorporated during the routine rounds as part of the A-F liberation bundle. The outcome is to improve patient and family satisfaction scores using a validated Family Satisfaction with Care in the Intensive Care Unit (FS-ICU 24) questionnaire to achieve a score of 75 or more, which correlates with very good. Challenges and limitations are discussed in the proposal.