Skip to content

Written Communication in the Intensive Care Unit

Impact of WRitten Communication on the ICU Team Experience

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05636371
Acronym
WRITE
Enrollment
166
Registered
2022-12-05
Start date
2022-11-01
Completion date
2023-07-01
Last updated
2023-08-31

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Burnout, Communication, Satisfaction, Patient

Brief summary

The goal of this study is to compare the experience of intensive care unit (ICU) families and care providers before and after the implementation of an approach whereby clinicians initiate written communication with families The main questions it aims to answer are 1. Is ICU care-provider initiated written communication feasible and acceptable to participants? 2. Does ICU care-provider initiated written communication affect the experience of families and care providers? Participants will complete surveys and participate in interviews during a 3 month pre-implementation phase and a 3 month post-implementation phase

Interventions

OTHERWritten Communication

Written patient care updates provided to families of ICU patients each day

Sponsors

Rush University Medical Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

(family members or surrogates) • Self-identify as one of the patient's decision makers

Exclusion criteria

(family members or surrogates) * Cannot read or understand English * Unwilling to participate in study procedures Inclusion criteria for care providers (physicians, physician assistants, and nurses) • Work during the day shift

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)3 months before the interventionThe Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is a 22-item survey measuring symptoms of burnout. The MBI has been validated for a variety of professions. The MBI has been used in past studies in the ICU to evaluate the level of burnout present among critical care clinicians and to assess for the effectiveness of interventions attempting to alleviate the degree of burnout syndrome. This survey examines the participant's perception of their work, physical and emotional exhaustion, sense of personal accomplishment, and degree of depersonalization. Items are presented as single statements, such as I feel worn out at the end of a working day, and are rated on a scale of 0 to 6 with 0 being never and 6 being every day.
Family Inpatient Communication Survey (FICS)5 days after ICU admissionThe Family Inpatient Communication Survey (FICS) is a 30-item survey measuring of the quality of communication with the treatment team from the perspective of families of hospitalized patients. Items on this survey measure the informational and emotional aspects of communication, and each item of this survey is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The FICS has been validated in a study of 350 surrogates of hospitalized adults demonstrating the high internal reliability, predictive validity, and high item completion rates of this survey.
Nurse-Physician Collaboration Scale (NPCS)3 months before the interventionThe Nurse-Physician Collaboration Scale (NPCS) is a 27-item survey measuring the level of collaboration between nurses and physicians based on three categories: joint participation in the decision-making process, the sharing of patient information, and cooperativeness.Items on this survey are rated on a 5-point scale with responses ranging from always to never. The NPCS has been validated in a study of 446 physicians and 1217 nurses at 27 hospitals.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
The Acceptability, Appropriateness and Feasibility of Intervention Survey (AIM, IAM and FIM)3 months after the interventionCare providers will complete this 12-item psychometric assessment. Implementation science researchers have established the benchmarks and acceptance of this scale.
The Post Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ)3 months after the interventionThe Post Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) is a 16-item PSSUQ survey that measures the acceptance of new technology. PSSUQ measures perception of information quality, interface quality, and overall intervention usefulness. Lewis et al have published on the high internal validity and sensitivity of this scale since 1992.
The User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ)3 months after the interventionThe User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) is a 8-item scale to measure the overall user experience of the family member(s) who used the communication intervention. The UEQ measures user experience on items including attractiveness, perspicuity, efficiency, dependability, stimulation, and novelty. UEQ has high internal validity and has been benchmarked across numerous usability and user experience evaluation studies.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Qualitative analysis3 months after the interventionSemi-structured interviews with participants will be coded and examined using thematic content analysis.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026