Leanne Boehm, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
Disclosure information not submitted.
Mariya Kovaleva, RN, PhD, MS, AGPCNP-BC
Assistant Professor
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Abigail Jones, MEd
Research Coordinator
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Christine Kimpel, PhD(c), RN
Scholar
Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Jana Lauderdale, PhD, RN, FAAN
Associate Professor
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
.jpg "Carla Sevin, MD photo")
Carla Sevin, MD
Director, ICU Recovery Center at Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee
Disclosure information not submitted.
Title: Patient and Caregiver Experiences with a Telehealth Post-Intensive Care Syndrome Recovery Clinic
Introduction: Patient attendance to in-person post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) clinics is challenged by functional impairments, time constraints, transportation, and travel distance. Telehealth PICS clinic delivery may provide a feasible and effective alternative for providing care to ICU survivors and address the slow adoption of PICS clinics. the purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of patient and caregiver experiences with participation in a telehealth PICS clinic.
Methods: We conducted a qualitative, cross-sectional, exploratory study. We purposefully sampled patients and caregivers who participated in 1-2 PICS clinic telehealth visits and recruited until data saturation was reached. Semi-structured 1:1 interviews were conducted via phone, audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. We used conventional content analysis to analyze the data.
Results: The sample included 14 patients and 12 caregivers. Results were grouped patient and caregiver telehealth PICS clinic experiences and ways to improve the telehealth PICS clinic. Most participants preferred telehealth over in-person visits, reporting that telehealth saved time, with Zoom being described as clear and easy to access. The most defining visit characteristic was the reassurance of the patient's recovery and progress provided by the PICS clinic team. Caregiver telehealth PICS clinic participation in the telehealth PICS clinic visit ranged from absence to active discussion with the clinic team and corresponded to patients' knowledge of and ability to manage their health condition or technology. Caregivers spoke about their own positive experience and the benefits of the telehealth format, noting that an in-person visit would have required several hours for driving the patient. Participant recommendations for technologic, logistic, and patient-centered approaches were provided to improve telehealth PICS clinic delivery.
Conclusions: Our findings support the feasibility and acceptability of telehealth PICS clinic delivery and illuminate aspects of care that may be refined to better serve ICU survivors. An understanding of telehealth PICS clinic patient and caregiver experiences allows teams to customize the intervention to address the most pertinent needs of ICU survivors, potentially mitigating the public health crisis caused by PICS.