ArticleIntensive care medicine2017
A family information brochure and dedicated website to improve the ICU experience for patients' relatives: an Italian multicenter before-and-after study.
Article in Intensive care medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03438175 (Randomized, Multicenter, Before-after Study for a Large-scale Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Multitasking Intervention to Improve the Communication Towards Families of Critically Ill Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 28 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Randomized, Multicenter, Before-after Study for a Large-scale Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Multitasking Intervention to Improve the Communication Towards Families of Critically Ill Patients
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- European Society of Intensive Care Medicine guidelines on end of life and palliative care in the intensive care unit.Intensive care medicine · 2024Guideline
- Information or education interventions for adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients and their carers.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Effect of an intensive care unit virtual reality intervention on relatives´ mental health distress: a multicenter, randomized controlled trial.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Trial
- Effects of an online information tool on post-traumatic stress disorder in relatives of intensive care unit patients: a multicenter double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (ICU-Families-Study).Intensive care medicine · 2023Trial
- Digital Tools for Information, Communication, Support, and Family Engagement in Adult Intensive Care Units: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Optimising pain management in intensive care setting: Insights from a realist evaluation.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Review
- Missed Intensive Nursing Care Scale: Results From an Italian Validation Study.Nursing in critical care · 2025Article
- Families' Experiences of Surrogate Decision-Making and Challenges of Shared Decision-Making: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Identification of unmet information needs among families of critically ill patients and their association with post-intensive care syndrome-family: protocol for a single-center cross-sectional study.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- Participatory Development of an International Information Brochure on the Multimodal Assessment of Disorders of Consciousness.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Support for relatives in the intensive care unit: lessons from a cross-sectional multicentre cohort study during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Does an educational website improve psychological outcomes and satisfaction among family members of intensive care unit patients?Critical care science · 2023Article
- Establishing communication with relatives of admitted obstetrical patients with COVID-19 infection during COVID-19 pandemic: A quality improvement initiative.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2022Article
- Communication and visiting policies in Italian intensive care units during the first COVID-19 pandemic wave and lockdown: a nationwide survey.BMC anesthesiology · 2022Article
- A questionnaire-based study on quality and adequacy of clinical communication between physician and family members of admitted Covid-19 patients.Patient education and counseling · 2022Article
- Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in next of kin during suspension of ICU visits during the COVID-19 pandemic: a prospective observational study.BMC psychiatry · 2021Observational
- Impact of a Visual Support Dedicated to Prognosis on Symptoms of Stress of ICU Family Members: A Before-and-After Implementation Study.Critical care explorations · 2021Article
- Surgical Support for Severe COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study in a French High-Density COVID-19 Cluster.Surgical innovation · 2020Article
- Validation and Analysis of the European Quality Questionnaire in Italian Language.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- How COVID-19 pandemic changed our communication with families: losing nonverbal cues.Critical care (London, England) · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
22 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeGood communication between ICU staff and patients' relatives may reduce the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or depression, and dissatisfaction with clinicians. An information brochure and website to meet relatives' needs were designed to explain in technical yet simple terms what happens during and after an ICU stay, to legitimize emotions such as fear, apprehension, and suffering, and to improve cooperation with relatives without increasing staff workload. The main outcomes were improved understanding of prognosis and procedures, and decrease of relatives' anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms.
methodsIn this prospective multicenter before-and-after study, a self-administered questionnaire was used to investigate relatives' understanding of prognosis, treatments, and organ dysfunction, families' satisfaction, and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress.
resultsA total of 551 relatives received questionnaires in nine Italian ICUs; 332 (60%) responded, 144 before and 179 after implementation of the brochure and website. Of the 179 relatives who responded after, 131 (73%) stated they had read the brochure and 34 (19%) reported viewing the website. The intervention was associated with increased correct understanding of the prognosis (from 69 to 84%, p = 0.04) and the therapeutic procedures (from 17 to 28%, p = 0.03). Multivariable analysis, together with non-modifiable factors (relative's gender, education level, relationship to patient, and patient status at ICU discharge), showed the intervention to be significantly associated with a lower incidence of post-traumatic stress symptoms (Poisson coefficient = -0.29, 95% CI -0.52/-0.07). The intervention had no effect on the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression.
conclusionAn information brochure and website designed to meet relatives' needs improved family members' comprehension and reduced their prevalence of stress symptoms.
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Registered trials
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