Transitioning with Grace: Improving Quality of Life for Comfort Care Patients in the Intensive Care Unit

Author

Melissa AshleyFollow

Date of Award

Winter 12-14-2018

Document Type

DNP Project

Project Team Faculty Member

Bernadette Sobczak

Project Team Faculty Member

Valerie Yancey

Keywords

end-of-life, palliative care, intensive care unit, ICU, quality improvement

Abstract

The primary aim of this project was to develop and execute a standard protocol of interventions for comfort care patients on a medical intensive care unit. Staff at a 15 bed MICU at a Midwest urban teaching hospital from June 1 until August 11, 2018 were trained to execute a standardized protocol of interventions for comfort care patients. Seventeen MICU patients who transitioned to comfort care were offered a standardized set of evidence-based interventions, after staff attended educational in-services on providing high quality end of life (EOL) care. Checklists were used to determine intervention compliance. Pre-project and post-project surveys were collected to determine changes in staff perception of staff comfort levels, resource availability, and quality of care. Staff submitted 25 pre-project surveys, 14 post-project surveys and 12 checklists. Four survey items showed statistically significant improvement, and most interventions were offered >75% of the time. Offering educational in-services to staff and making resources readily available increased offering of evidence-based interventions to patients, improved opportunities to create handprints, increased opportunities for patients to be close to loved ones, and increased staff perception that the MICU is a comfortable environment for providing quality EOL care.

Recommended Citation

Ashley, Melissa, "Transitioning with Grace: Improving Quality of Life for Comfort Care Patients in the Intensive Care Unit" (2018). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 61.
https://spark.siue.edu/dnpprojects/61

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