Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions of Patients’ Out-of-ICU Activities: Exploring Opportunities for Humanizing ICU Care

Patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit (ICU) are vulnerable to dehumanization. To provide ICU patients and their family members with more enjoyable and meaningful ICU experiences, our hospital has implemented out-of-ICU activities, including outdoor excursions and whole-body shower bathing as an early rehabilitation strategy. Herein, we investigated healthcare professionals' perceptions regarding how these out-of-ICU activities affect both the patients' physical and mental conditions and the humanized care of ICU patients. We conducted a survey that asked 17 questions (benefits, harms, "What if you or your family member were the one in the ICU?" and humanization) and provided a free-writing section. Thirty-six physicians, 38 nurses, 9 therapists, and 7 clinical engineering technicians responded (84% response rate). Most respondents perceived that the out-of-ICU program improves patients' conditions and promotes humanized care in the ICU. These preliminary findings provide valuable insights, though larger and more rigorous studies are needed to confirm and extend the results.