Lee RM, Chunguang Gu, Kelly Cao and Wong YL
Background: To determine if a three-pronged toolkit is useful in facilitating communication regarding end of life care in a neuroscience intensive care unit (NICU).
Methods: This was an educative research strategy with pre and post-implementation surveys of family members and healthcare workers in the NICU. ICU patients for palliative care with the following criteria: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) less than 5 with sedation; severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy; severe intracerebral haemorrhage; severe traumatic brain injury as deemed unsalvageable by the neurosurgeon were chosen for a three-prong communication toolkit to be used between medical workers and family members.
Results: Healthcare workers found a significant improvement in communication with family members in terms of clarity of goals of care. There was no statistically significant difference in the family satisfaction score pre- and post-implementation of the toolkit.
Conclusions: We conclude that the toolkit is useful in assisting healthcare workers communicate with family members and in achieving clarity in terms of goals of care for patients whose death is imminent.
