Visiting and communication policy in intensive care Units during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey from South Asia and the Middle East.
Author
Chanchalani, GunjanArora, Nitin
Nasa, Prashant
Sodhi, Kanwalpreet
Bahrani, Maher J Al
Tayar, Ashraf Al
Hashmi, Madiha
Jaiswal, Vinod
Kantor, Sandeep
Lopa, Ahsina J
Mansour, Bassam
Mudalige, Anushka D
Nadeem, Rashid
Shrestha, Gentle S
Taha, Ahmed R
Türkoğlu, Melda
Weeratunga, Dameera
Publication date
2022-03Subject
Intensive care
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Purpose: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had affected the visiting or communicating policies for family members. We surveyed the intensive care units (ICUs) in South Asia and the Middle East to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on visiting and communication policies. Materials and method: A web-based cross-sectional survey was used to collect data between March 22, 2021, and April 7, 2021, from healthcare professionals (HCP) working in COVID and non-COVID ICUs (one response per ICU). The topics of the questionnaire included current and pre-pandemic policies on visiting, communication, informed consent, and end-of-life care in ICUs. Results: A total of 292 ICUs (73% of COVID ICUs) from 18 countries were included in the final analysis. Most (92%) of ICUs restricted their visiting hours, and nearly one-third (32.3%) followed a "no-visitor" policy. There was a significant change in the daily visiting duration in COVID ICUs compared to the pre-pandemic times (p = 0.011). There was also a significant change (p <0.001) in the process of informed consent and end-of-life discussions during the ongoing pandemic compared to pre-pandemic times. Conclusion: Visiting and communication policies of the ICUs had significantly changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future studies are needed to understand the sociopsychological and medicolegal implications of revised policies.Citation
Chanchalani G, Arora N, Nasa P, Sodhi K, Bahrani MJA, Tayar AA, Hashmi M, Jaiswal V, Kantor S, Lopa AJ, Mansour B, Mudalige AD, Nadeem R, Shrestha GS, Taha AR, Türkoğlu M, Weeratunga D. Visiting and Communication Policy in Intensive Care Units during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Survey from South Asia and the Middle East. Indian J Crit Care Med. 2022 Mar;26(3):268-275. doi: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24091Type
ArticleAdditional Links
http://www.ijccm.orgPMID
35519910Publisher
Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishersae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24091