Family Communication and Support in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

This project is evaluating the effect of a standardized communication intervention in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) on long-term distress of family members of children in the PICU for 5 days or longer. The study hypothesis is that intervention families will have lower (better) acute stress disorder scores when their child is discharged from the PICU and lower (better) post-traumatic stress disorder scores at 3-month follow-up, as compared to the control group families. The investigators will recruit 220 families (110 in each of the control and intervention groups). Families who are randomized to the intervention group will receive routine visits from members of the PACT (palliative care) team at least three times/week to address psychosocial needs, keep families informed about their child's health status, and offer emotional and instrumental support and resources. Families in the control group will receive usual care in the PICU. The intervention will end whenever the child is discharged from the PICU, which usually happens within 3 weeks of enrollment. The investigators will assess family outcomes at discharge from the PICU and 90 days after study enrollment. The investigators will conduct two additional activities to learn more about the processes of care for those in both the intervention and control groups. First, during the intervention, the investigators will recruit 30 families (15 in each group) and ask permission to audio-record the family care conferences to assess communication styles and gain greater insight into the differences in practice with or without the participation of the intervention team. The investigators will obtain additional consent from participants in these family conferences who are not otherwise enrolled in the study. Second, after completion of the 3-month follow-up interview, a sub-sample of a different 30 families (again, 15 in each group) will be invited to participate in qualitative interviews to debrief about their experience in the study and the intervention (for those in that group). This will be a one-time interview scheduled within 60 days of recruitment for this part of the project.