Communication aids in intensive care during unprecedented times

ABSTRACT

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has placed immense duress on the NHS with intensive care units (ICUs) at maximum capacity. Social distancing, virtual communication with relatives, and personal protective equipment have reduced the quality of communication between staff and patients causing an increase in family member distress and dissatisfaction. This project aimed to assist with communication between staff and patients through the use of an infographic explaining equipment in ICU at a district general hospital. Methods An infographic poster was created describing common ICU equipment and its uses. Pre-and post-intervention surveys were sent to both ICU staff and recently discharged patients and families. Staff confidence in explaining and patient/relative satisfaction in understanding ICU equipment were analysed before (staff n = 26, patient/relatives n = 29) and after (staff n = 20, patient/relative n = 10) infographic implementation. Scoring was carried out on a scale of 0-5, where 0 represented either complete dissatisfaction, or a complete lack of confidence, and 5 being either very satisfied or very confident. Results A positive shift and a decrease in score variation was seen in patient/relative satisfaction from a median of 4 (range 1-5) pre-intervention to 5 (range 4-5) post-intervention. Staff confidence also saw a positive increase from 4 (range 2-5) to 5 (range 2-5) pre-and post-intervention respectively. Discussion Clear and effective communication in ICU is imperative to reduce the predictable fear and anxiety a patient or family member might experience in such an intimidating and unfamiliar environment. Recently, animations have found a role in explaining various cardiovascular procedures, highlighting the potential for depicting medical information in a user-friendly manner [1, 2]. This infographic offers a simple and clear method of aiding ICU communication without having to increase the demands of or retrain staff. The effectiveness of this measure could see implicated uses throughout clinical areas as a renewable and effective communication aid and has the potential to be implemented as either an information leaflet supplement or ward-based poster.