Impact of an Integrated Psychosocial Intervention for Health Care Professionals in an Intensive Care Unit: Controlled...

Intensive care units (ICUs) are challenging environments for healthcare professionals (HCPs), patients, and families. Up to 75% of HCPs experience psychosomatic symptoms and 30% intend to leave their job. To address this, a German ICU implemented an integrated psychosocial care model. Its implementation and evaluation are described. In a quasi-experimental design, a psychologist was integrated part-time into an ICU team for 7 months (June 2022-January 2023), tasked to deliver low-threshold psychosocial support to HCPs. Additional components were one-on-one interactions, clinical supervisions, a feedback survey and health circles. Pre- and post-measures from a voluntary sample of the intervention ward (N = 65) and a control ward receiving usual psychosocial care (N = 33) were taken via online surveys assessing the psychosocial safety climate (PSC), emotional and cognitive irritation and intention to leave. Groups were compared using linear mixed-effect models. The intervention was implemented as planned, and HCPs expressed satisfaction with the changes experienced on the ward. Statistical testing revealed no significant interaction effects between point of measurement and group allocation on irritation and intention to leave (P > .01). The PSC interaction effect did not reach the significance (α = .01, P = .02) but indicated a trend towards improvement in the intervention group. The intervention successfully provided accessible psychosocial support and fostered a more positive PSC within the ICU team. Statistical effects were limited, likely due to the quasi-experimental study design, small sample size and group imbalances, highlighting the need for larger, more controlled studies.