D22 THE COURSE OF CRITICAL ILLNESS: ADMISSION TO FOLLOW-UP: Formative Research To Assess Family Experiences With Inter-Icu Transfers Of Ventilator Dependent Respiratory Failure Patients -Perspectives Of Multiple Stakeholders

• Published in: American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2017-01, Vol.195
• Main Authors: Nadig, N R, Sterba, K, Johnson, E, Goodwin, A J, d, D W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Patients; Post traumatic stress disorder; Ventilators
• ISSN: 1073-449X; 1535-4970

Rationale- Patients with ventilator dependent respiratory failure (VDRF) are among the most seriously ill ICU patients and thus theoretically should benefit from treatment in centers with greater expertise necessitating transfer between ICUs and inter-ICU transfer is common.While intended to benefit patients,inter-ICU transfer may impact patient's family who are removed from their local support systems and may experience substantial travel burdens to be near their family member.It is widely recognized that family of ICU survivors experience depression,post-traumatic stress and anxiety at rates substantially higher than that of the US population but the influence that an inter-ICU transfer has on psychological outcomes in families is entirely unknown.Thus,our objective was to utilize a qualitative approach to gather insights into the psychological impact of inter-ICU transfer on families from multiple stakeholders in the transfer triad:1) family member undergoing transfer,2) transferring clinician 3) receiving clinician. Methods-We prospectively identified VDRF patients transferred to adult ICU's at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and then recruited stakeholders associated with the patient:1) family members 2) transferring ICU clinicians from referring hospitals and 3) receiving ICU clinicians at MUSC.We then used qualitative,semi-structured interviews that explored factors regarding the transfer including patient,family, health system,transfer timing,communication,coping and support factors.Interviews were transcribed and template analysis was used to identify key themes within and across stakeholder groups.