Fostering Patient and Family Partnerships in Critical Care: Adopting an Online Interface

Patient and family resources at St Paul’s Hospital (SPH) Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were limited to a paper-based handbook that was revised in 2017 to incorporate the principles of Patient and Family Centered Care (PFCC). Because this handbook was only available from within the ICU, family members unable to attend the bedside lacked access to information directed towards meeting their needs. The purpose of this project was to redesign SPH ICU website to improve accessibility and efficiency in obtaining information about care in the ICU.

In our capacity as nursing students without ICU experience, we collaborated with patient and family partners and the multidisciplinary team to incorporate PFCC and current clinical practices/policies into the website’s content. The website design is based on evidence-informed strategies that promote ease of use and enhance readability. Content is organized into layers using links that redirect users to information pertaining to their question or interest. Within each layer, the content is presented in small segments to avoid overwhelming the patient or family member. Throughout several iterations of the website, we were consistently challenged with converting medical jargon and authoritative overtones into language that would foster mutually beneficial partnerships between patients, their families, and the healthcare team.

Although currently in the final stages of editing, the development of this website has provided insight to healthcare providers on the use of an online medium as a resource allocation tool. The capabilities of the website will enable the delivery of multimedia such as videos, hyperlinks, audio segments and animations that a paper-based handbook inherently cannot accommodate. The incorporation of this media may positively impact information sharing and understanding between patients and healthcare professionals. Further, patients and their family members may access the website as a valuable, interactive resource to aid in navigating the complexities of the ICU setting.