1. The Experience of a Neurocritical Care Admission and Discharge for Patients and Their Families: A Qualitative Analysis
- Author
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Laura B. Ngwenya, Simona Ferioli, Omar Lopez, Erika Schlichter, Natalie Kreitzer, Kelly Rath, and Brandon Foreman
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Quality management ,Critical Care ,Nurse practitioners ,030204 cardiovascular system & hematology ,Medical care ,Article ,law.invention ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Qualitative analysis ,Patient Admission ,law ,Neuroscience Nursing ,Intervention (counseling) ,Medicine ,Humans ,Longitudinal Studies ,Qualitative Research ,Endocrine and Autonomic Systems ,business.industry ,Neurointensive care ,After discharge ,Continuity of Patient Care ,Intensive care unit ,Patient Discharge ,Hospitalization ,Medical–Surgical Nursing ,Intensive Care Units ,Caregivers ,Patient Satisfaction ,Family medicine ,Surgery ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
INTRODUCTION: A qualitative assessment of discharge resource needs is important for developing evidence-based care improvements in neurocritically ill patients. We hypothesized that standardized, open-ended assessments of patients or caregivers after neurocritical care would result in themes that reflect post-intensive care concerns. METHODS: We conducted a quality improvement initiative at an academic hospital and included all patients admitted to the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit (NSICU) over an 18-month period. Telephone assessments were made at 3–6 months following admission. Patients or caregivers were asked if they had adequate resources upon discharge and if they had any unanswered questions. The content of responses was reviewed by a neurointensivist and neurocritical care nurse practitioner. A structured codebook was developed, organized into themes, and applied to the responses. RESULTS: 61 patients or caregivers responded regarding access to resources at discharge with 114 individual codable responses. Responses centered around five themes with 23 unique codes: satisfied, needs improvement, dissatisfied, poor post ICU care, and poor health. The most frequently coded responses were that caregivers believed their loved one had experienced an unclear discharge (n=11) or premature discharge (n=12). 204 patients or caregivers responded regarding unanswered questions or additional comments at follow-up, with 516 codable responses. These centered around six themes with 26 unique codes: positive experience, negative experience, neutral experience, medical questions, ongoing medical care or concern, or remembrance of time spent in the ICU. The most frequent response was that caregivers or patients stated that they received good care (n= 115). Multiple concerns were brought up, including lack of follow-up after hospitalization (n=15), and dissatisfaction with post-ICU care (n=15). CONCLUSIONS: Obtaining qualitative responses after discharge provided insight into the transition from critical care. This could form the basis for an intervention to provide a smoother transition from the ICU to the outpatient setting.
- Published
- 2020