Daily Telephone Call During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perceptions of Families and Providers.
Am J Crit Care
; 31(1): 77-81, 2022 01 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34549261
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
In intensive care units (ICUs), the quality of communication with families is a key point in the caregiver-patient-family relationship. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital visits were prohibited, and many ICUs implemented a daily telephone call strategy to ensure continuity of communication with patients' families.OBJECTIVE:
To assess how family members and health care providers perceived this communication strategy.METHODS:
The study was conducted in a 45-bed ICU during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communication with families consisted of a single daily telephone call from the senior physician in charge of the patient to the patient's surrogate decision maker. Satisfaction was qualitatively assessed via an anonymous online questionnaire with open-ended questions.RESULTS:
Participants completed 114 questionnaires. Forty-six percent of surrogate decision makers stated that the key medical messages were understandable, but 57% of other family members expressed that the frequency of information delivery was insufficient. Fifty-six percent of the physicians described the practice as functional for the organization of the unit. Among health care providers other than physicians, 55% felt that not having to interact with families decreased their emotional load and 50% mentioned saving time and the absence of task interruptions as positive aspects.CONCLUSION:
Fixed-time, daily telephone calls in the ICU allowed satisfactory transmission of information between physicians and surrogate decision makers, as perceived by both parties. However, the telephone-based communication strategy could still be improved.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Am J Crit Care
Journal subject:
ENFERMAGEM
/
TERAPIA INTENSIVA
Year:
2022
Type:
Article