Premium
Following the path of ICU survivors: a quality‐improvement activity
Author(s) -
Chaboyer Wendy,
Grace Joy
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
nursing in critical care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.689
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1478-5153
pISSN - 1362-1017
DOI - 10.1046/j.1478-5153.2003.00020.x
Subject(s) - intensive care unit , medicine , quality management , intensive care medicine , emergency medicine , nursing , operations management , management system , economics
Summary • Recent interest in continuity of care has meant that the illness trajectory experienced by intensive care unit (ICU) patients has received more attention • Using continuous quality improvement as a framework, this paper describes information obtained during a 3‐year period relating to ICU patients’ long‐term experiences after being discharged from hospital • This information identified that most participants had been discharged home but that many experienced problems with mobility, disability and fatigue. Changes in employment status and the need for financial assistance were noted • As a result of the information provided by this activity, clinical practice has changed and a number of formal research studies have been undertaken