Incidence and factors associated with post-intensive care syndrome among caregivers of intensive care unit survivors: Protocol for a cohort study

Abstract

Background During the last decades, intensive care unit (ICU) mortality rates have significantly decreased but this progress has come with unintended consequences for patients and their caregivers. The adverse health-related effects observed in caregivers during the post-ICU period are referred to as Post-Intensive Care Syndrome-Family (PICS-F). Despite growing awareness of PICS-F, the long-term challenges faced by caregivers of ICU patients are not well characterized with several gaps in knowledge remaining unaddressed. The proposed study aims to determine the incidence of PICS-F impairments and identify associated factors among caregivers of ICU survivors. Methods We plan to conduct a longitudinal prospective cohort study involving 175 caregivers of ICU patients admitted to a public hospital in Chile. Data will be collected during ICU admission, after ICU discharge, 3 months and 6 months after hospital discharge. Questionnaires will evaluate caregivers’ psychological, physical and cognitive outcomes and perceived social support, resilience, family satisfaction and caregiver burden. Factors associated with PICS-F impairments will be explored using generalised linear mixed models. Discussion The current understanding of PICS-F is limited, particularly regarding the risk and protective factors associated with the syndrome among caregivers of ICU survivors. This study will contribute to addressing this gap by providing novel data about PICS-F and exploring previously unexamined factors linked to PICS-F such as family satisfaction, psychological buffers and caregiver burden. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05827354. Registered on 25 April 2023.