The Impact of Structured Family Meetings in the Intensive Care Unit

The Impact of Structured Family Meetings in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Purpose Train providers at an academic institution in a large metropolitan area to conduct family meetings using a structured approach and evaluate this intervention's impact on family satisfaction with communication in the ICU. Background Inadequate communication between families and healthcare teams leads to lower family satisfaction, heightened feelings of guilt, and diminished capacity for making clinical decisions. Methodology VitalTalk training was utilized to improve providers’ communication skills. Structured family meetings were conducted for Surgical and Thoracic ICU patients with an ICU length of stay of > 5 days or a predicted mortality rate over 25% within 5 days of ICU admission, and then every 5-7 days afterward. Patients’ families completed a survey on their satisfaction with communication using part 2 of the FS-ICU 24 survey. Baseline scores were gathered from the Medical and Neurological ICUs. Results Ten questions, using a 5-point Likert scale plus one open-ended question, addressed family satisfaction with communication. Based on the Mann-Whitney U test, the post-intervention (n=101) scores were higher than baseline (n=85) for 9 of 10 questions, with statistical significance and a 9.8% mean improvement in family satisfaction. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed a significant convergence in family perceptions post-intervention, with several complementary themes. Implications Training providers to conduct “Structured Family Meetings” in the ICU increases family satisfaction with decision-making regarding caring for their critically ill loved one.