A Thematic Analysis of Intensive Care Unit Diaries Content

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Patient and Family Experience
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Intensive care unit (ICU) diaries offer a narrative of critical illness, positively impacting patients and families.
• Limited research exists on the content of ICU diaries written by family members and healthcare staff.
• Understanding diary content is crucial for optimizing their benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To perform a content analysis of ICU diaries.
• To explore themes and subthemes within diaries completed by family members and healthcare staff.
• To identify how these diaries are utilized in a medical-surgical ICU setting.

Main Methods:

• Secondary qualitative analysis of 30 ICU diaries.
• Diaries were collected from adult patients admitted for >72 hours and ventilated for >24 hours.
• Reflexive thematic analysis was employed to identify major themes and subthemes.

Main Results:

• Three major themes emerged: Connection, Information Provision, and Coping.
• Connection included staff personhood and family ties.
• Information provision covered types and methods of sharing, while coping involved emotions, humor, and spirituality.

Conclusions:

• This study is the first to analyze ICU diary content in North America.
• Findings reveal diaries build connections, share information, and support coping.
• Results inform future diary program design, implementation, and resource allocation.