Author Identifier
Gideon U. Johnson: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9950-074X
Amanda Towell-Barnard: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2475-7724
Beverley Ewens: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2008-7214
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Nursing in Critical Care
Publisher
Wiley
School
School of Nursing and Midwifery
Funders
Australian Government Research Training Program / Edith Cowan University
Abstract
Background: Family-led interventions have been identified as effective in many areas of care including the management of delirium. However, because of the heterogeneity and ambiguity of family-led interventions, they are not consistently applied within intensive care units. A user-friendly digital intervention may therefore support consistent family integration into delirium management. Aim: To explore the feasibility and acceptability of a family member's voice reorientation intervention for delirium prevention and management in an adult intensive care unit. Study Design: Parallel, convergent mixed-methods pilot study was conducted in a general adult intensive care unit in the United Kingdom. Thirty participants (15 patients and 15 family members) were enrolled in the study. For the qualitative component, 17 participants (three patients, six family members and eight nurses) contributed to the evaluation. Results: The median frequency of the family member's voice reorientation intervention was 2.3 times per day (range 3.3), and the median Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale score was −1 (range 2.5). Qualitative data revealed seven themes: acceptance of the intervention, communication, delirium awareness, reactions to the intervention, cognitive state, perception of the intensive care unit and psychological well-being. Conclusion: Nurses can involve family members in person-centred care within the intensive care unit. Results from this study indicate that the family member's voice reorientation programme is feasible and acceptable and may be an effective strategy for providing ongoing orientation, reassurance and comfort to critically ill adult patients to prevent or manage delirium. A larger study is needed to evaluate its impact on delirium. Relevance for Clinical Practice: The family member's voice reorientation intervention offers critical care nurses a feasible, family-centred approach to support delirium care in the intensive care unit. Integrating this non-invasive tool into practice may enable nurses to enhance patient outcomes, reduce anxiety and strengthen collaboration between patients, families and health care professionals.
DOI
10.1111/nicc.13210
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Johnson, G. U., Towell‐Barnard, A., McLean, C., & Ewens, B. (2024). The implementation and evaluation of a family‐led novel intervention for delirium prevention and management in adult critically ill patients: A mixed‐methods pilot study. Nursing in Critical Care. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/nicc.13210