Impact of restricted visitation policies during COVID-19 on critically ill adults, their families, critical care clinicians, and decision-makers: a qualitative interview study

Applying Lessons From Ars Moriendi to Foster Dying Well in Acute Care Settings

Medical and technological advances have made it possible to keep people alive well beyond what was once possible, leading health care providers to focus on life-sustaining measures rather than questioning the futility of such measures and considering quality of life. In the midst of the struggle to foster dying well in a medicalized environment, acute care nurses may be challenged with shifting the focus to providing optimal end-of-life care because of lack of training, time, and resources. A remedy for the current western societal approach to medicalized dying is to look back in history to a time during the late Middle Ages, when death was an accepted part of medieval life. A literary genre called Ars Moriendi (translated "the art of dying") was written and illustrated to provide instruction on how to die well and how to care for the dying. Nurses can apply lessons from this text to fulfill the ethical obligation to practice with dignity and provide compassionate end-of-life care. These lessons include helping patients and families identify goals of care and accept finitude, encouraging the participation of loved ones at the bedside, and fostering reconciliation at the end of life.

Family Members' Engagement in Symptom Communication, Assessment, and Management in the Intensive Care Unit: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Opportunities for communication and participation in decision making are limited for critically ill patients, but family members serving as surrogates enable empowerment of these patients.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to explore family members' engagement in symptom communication in the intensive care unit.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive design using fieldwork methodology with triangulation of participant observation and individual interviews was conducted. Nine mechanically ventilated patients were observed in interaction with family members and clinicians in the intensive care unit. Six of the observed patients, 6 family members, and 9 clinicians were interviewed after participant observation. Field notes and transcripts were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's method of thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Family members engaged actively in symptom communication, assessment, and management, and there were barriers and facilitators to family engagement. Three main themes and 9 subthemes describing family engagement emerged: (1) intermediary role (recognize and report symptoms, provide patient information, and assist in communication), (2) independent role (provide familiarity, manage symptoms, and promote patient communication), and (3) conditions for family engagement (intensive care unit environment, relationship with the patient, and patient preferences).

DISCUSSION

Family members have unique knowledge of the patient that differs from and complement the competence of the staff, and might contribute to improved symptom communication. Future research should examine how family members can contribute to symptom communication, assessment, and management.

Impact of COVID-19-related restricted family presence policies on Canadian pediatric intensive care unit clinicians: a qualitative study

PURPOSE

Pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) worldwide restricted family presence in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to explore the experiences and impact of restricted family presence policies on Canadian PICU clinicians.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative study that followed an interpretive phenomenological design. Participants were PICU clinicians providing direct patient care in Canada during periods of COVID-19-related restricted family presence. We purposively sampled for maximum variation among survey participants who consented to be contacted for further research on the same topic. In-depth interviews were conducted remotely via telephone or video-call, audio-recorded, and transcribed. Interviews were inductively coded and underwent thematic analysis. Proposed themes were member-checked by interviewees.

RESULTS

Sixteen PICU clinicians completed interviews. Interviewees practiced across Canada, represented a range of disciplines (eight nurses, two physicians, two respiratory therapists, two child life specialists, two social workers) and years in profession (0-34 years). We identified four themes representing the most meaningful aspects of restricted family presence for participants: 1) balancing infection control and family presence; 2) feeling disempowered by hospital and policy-making hierarchies; 3) empathizing with family trauma; and 4) navigating threats to the therapeutic relationship.

CONCLUSION

Pediatric intensive care unit clinicians were impacted by restricted family presence policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. These policies contributed to feelings of disempowerment and challenged clinicians' perceived ability to provide the best family-centred care possible. Frontline expertise should be incorporated into the design and implementation of policies to best support family-centred care in any context and minimize risks of moral distress for PICU clinicians.

Physicians' beliefs and perceived importance of traumatic brain injury-associated agitation in critically ill patients: a survey of Canadian intensivists

PURPOSE

Agitation is a common behavioural problem following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Intensive care unit (ICU) physicians' perspectives regarding TBI-associated agitation are unknown. Our objective was to describe physicians' beliefs and perceived importance of TBI-associated agitation in critically ill patients.

METHODS

Following current standard guidance, we built an electronic, self-administrated, 42-item survey, pretested it for reliability and validity, and distributed it to 219 physicians working in 18 ICU level-1 trauma centres in Canada. We report the results using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

The overall response rate was 93/219 (42%), and 76/93 (82%) respondents completed the full survey. Most respondents were men with ten or more years of experience. Respondents believed that pre-existing dementia (90%) and regular recreational drug use (86%) are risk factors for agitation. Concerning management, 91% believed that the use of physical restraints could worsen agitation, 90% believed that having family at the bedside reduces agitation, and 72% believed that alpha-2 adrenergic agonists are efficacious for managing TBI agitation. Variability was observed in beliefs on epidemiology, sex, gender, age, socioeconomic status, and other pharmacologic options. Respondents considered TBI agitation frequent enough to justify the implementation of management protocols (87%), perceived the current level of clinical evidence on TBI agitation management to be insufficient (84%), and expressed concerns about acute and long-term detrimental outcomes and burden to patients, health care professionals, and relatives (85%).

CONCLUSION

Traumatic brain injury-associated agitation in critically ill patients was perceived as an important issue for most ICU physicians. Physicians agreed on multiple approaches to manage TBI-associated agitation although agreement on epidemiology and risk factors was variable.

National survey on changes in visitation, communication and end-of-life care policies in intensive care units through the different COVID-19 pandemic's waves (COVIFAUCI study)

INTRODUCTION

The pandemic derived from the SARS-CoV-2 infection led to changes in care for both relatives and intensive care patients during the different waves of incidence of the virus. The line of humanization followed by the majority of the hospitals was seriously affected by the restrictions applied. As an objective, we propose to know the modifications suffered during the different waves of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Spain regarding the policy of visits to patients in the ICU, monitoring at the end of life, and the use of new technologies. of communication between family members, patients and professionals.

METHODS

Multicenter cross-sectional descriptive study through a survey of Spanish ICUs from February to April 2022. Statistical analysis methods were performed on the results as appropriate. The study was endorsed by the Spanish Society of Intensive Nursing and Coronary Units.

RESULTS

29% of the units contacted responded. The daily visiting minutes of relatives dropped drastically from 135 (87.5-255) to 45 (25-60) in the 21.2% of units that allowed their access, improving slightly with the passing of the waves. In the case of bereavement, the permissiveness was greater, increasing the use of new technologies for patient-family communication in the case of 96.5% of the units.

CONCLUSIONS

The family of patients admitted to the ICU during the different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic have suffered restrictions on visits and a change from face-to-face to virtual communication techniques. Access times were reduced to minimum levels during the first wave, recovering with the advance of the pandemic but never reaching initial levels. Despite the implemented solutions and virtual communication, efforts should be directed towards improving the protocols for the humanization of healthcare that allow caring for families and patients whatever the healthcare context.

Family caregivers as essential partners in care: examining the impacts of restrictive acute care visiting policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

INTRODUCTION

During the pandemic many Canadian hospitals made significant changes to their 'open family presence' and 'visitor policies' to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by instituting restrictive or 'zero visiting' policies in healthcare facilities. These policies have the potential to create great hardship, anxiety and stress for patients, families, caregivers and frontline healthcare providers (HCPs); along with concerns about the quality and safety of patient care. The presence of family members and other caregivers as essential partners in care is an explicit expression of the philosophy of patient- and family-centred care (PFCC) in action. The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of how changes to family presence and visiting policies and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted patients, family caregivers and frontline healthcare providers (HCPs) in acute care hospitals.

METHODS

A total of 38 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients, family caregivers and HCPs in Canadian provinces who had experience with visiting policies in acute care settings during the pandemic. COVID patients, and the caregivers of COVID patients, were excluded from this study. A maximum variation sampling strategy was used to guide the selection and recruitment of patients, family caregivers and HCPs, based on our interest in gaining a diversity of perspectives and experiences.

RESULTS

Many patients, family caregivers, and HCPs view family caregiver presence as integral to PFCC, describing the essential roles played by family caregivers prior to the pandemic. There were commonalities across all three groups with respect to their perspectives on the impacts of restrictive visiting policies on patients, family caregivers and HCPs. They fell into four broad integrated categories: (1) emotional and mental health; (2) communication and advocacy; (3) safety and quality of care; and (4) PFCC, trust in the healthcare system, and future decisions regarding accessing needed healthcare. Recommendations for pandemic visiting policies were also identified.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings from this study highlighted several impacts of restrictive family caregiver presence or visiting policies implemented during COVID-19 on patients, family caregivers and HCPs in acute healthcare settings across Canada. Participants emphasized that there is no "one-size-fits-all" caregiver presence policy that will address all patient needs. To be consistent with the practice of PFCC, patients and family caregivers are welcomed as part of the healthcare team in ways that work for them, demonstrating that flexibility in family presence and visiting policies is essential.