Nurses' Perceptions of Intensive Care Unit Orientation Patient Education Pamphlet

Area of Science:

• Critical care medicine
• Patient education
• Healthcare communication

Background:

• Critical illness presents significant stress for patients and their families.
• Existing patient educational materials for critical illness are often underutilized due to lack of awareness among patients and staff.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of implementing the American Thoracic Society's ICU orientation pamphlet on nurses' perceptions of patient and family educational resources.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a new educational pamphlet in improving communication and resource availability in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Main Methods:

• A pre- and post-intervention survey of medical ICU (MICU) nurses at a safety-net urban institution.
• Introduction of the ATS ICU pamphlet, with QR codes linking to online versions and printed copies for families.
• Post-intervention survey administered 11 months later, with subsequent debriefing sessions with nurses.

Main Results:

• Awareness of the ATS ICU pamphlet increased significantly among nurses post-implementation (4% to 23%).
• Nurse-reported use of additional educational materials rose from 18% to 39%.
• Nurses suggested improvements for the pamphlet, focusing on content, format, and additional topics.

Conclusions:

• Informing nurses about the ICU pamphlet improved its acceptance and use, though barriers remain.
• Exploring barriers to ICU nurse utilization of patient education resources is crucial.
• The evaluation process highlighted the need for enhanced patient and family educational materials in critical care settings.