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  • Use of telecritical care for family visitation to ICU during the COVID-19 pandemic: an interview study and sentiment analysis

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Original research
Use of telecritical care for family visitation to ICU during the COVID-19 pandemic: an interview study and sentiment analysis
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  1. Farzan Sasangohar1,2,
  2. Atiya Dhala3,
  3. Feibi Zheng3,
  4. Nima Ahmadi2,
  5. Bita Kash2,4,
  6. Faisal Masud5
  1. 1 Industrial and Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
  2. 2 Center for Outcomes Research, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA
  3. 3 Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA
  4. 4 School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
  5. 5 Center for Critical Care, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Farzan Sasangohar, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; sasangohar{at}tamu.edu

Abstract

Background When the COVID-19 pandemic restricted visitation between intensive care unit patients and their families, the virtual intensive care unit (vICU) in our large tertiary hospital was adapted to facilitate virtual family visitation. The objective of this paper is to document findings from interviews conducted with family members on three categories: (1) feelings experienced during the visit, (2) barriers, challenges or concerns faced using this service, and (3) opportunities for improvements.

Methods Family members were interviewed postvisit via phone. For category 1 (feelings), automated analysis in Python using the Valence Aware Dictionary for sentiment Reasoner package produced weighted valence (extent of positive, negative or neutral emotive connotations) of the interviewees’ word choices. Outputs were compared with a manual coder’s valence ratings to assess reliability. Two raters conducted inductive thematic analysis on the notes from these interviews to analyse categories 2 (barriers) and 3 (opportunities).

Results Valence-based and manual sentiment analysis of 230 comments received on feelings showed over 86% positive sentiments (88.2% and 86.8%, respectively) with some neutral (7.3% and 6.8%) and negative (4.5% and 6.4%) sentiments. The qualitative analysis of data from 57 participants who commented on barriers showed four primary concerns: inability to communicate due to patient status (44% of respondents); technical difficulties (35%); lack of touch and physical presence (11%); and frequency and clarity of communications with the care team (11%). Suggested improvements from 59 participants included: on demand access (51%); improved communication with the care team (17%); improved scheduling processes (10%); and improved system feedback and technical capabilities (17%).

Conclusions Use of vICU for remote family visitations evoked happiness, joy, gratitude and relief and a sense of closure for those who lost loved ones. Identified areas for concern and improvement should be addressed in future implementations of telecritical care for this purpose.

  • visiting
  • critical care
  • human factors
  • qualitative research
  • quality improvement

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. Data can be shared upon reasonable request.

This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ’s website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained.

https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usage

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2020-011604

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request. Data can be shared upon reasonable request.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors All authors have been involved in the planning, conduct, and reporting of this research.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.