The Development, Implementation and Evaluation of FamVR.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Novel Intervention for Delirium in an Adult Intensive Care Unit: A Pilot Study
IRAS ID
318820
Contact name
Gideon Johnson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Edith Cowan University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 7 days
Research summary
Summary of Research:
This research study aims to develop, implement, and evaluate a novel delirium prevention and management intervention in an adult Intensive Care Unit.
Background: Many adults admitted to the hospital experience acute delirium, one of the most common types of brain dysfunction in those admitted to intensive care. Delirium causes a significant psychological impact on patients and family members, caregivers and health professionals. There is a lack of evidence-based drug-free interventions for preventing and managing delirium.
Intervention: The Family Members Voice Reorientation intervention (FamVR) is a novel voice reorientation program that will record family members’ voices. The recorded voices can be played to the patient by clinical staff to provide orientation, reassurance, and comforting words to critically ill patients.
Method: The researcher will conduct the study in two phases. The first phase will involve collaborating with relevant stakeholders comprising intensive care clinical experts and people with lived experience in the intensive care unit to develop the intervention. The second phase will involve implementing the FamVR as a pilot study in one adult intensive care unit and collecting statistical data about the FamVR. After implementing the FamVR, the researcher will evaluate the FamVR by exploring the experiences of ICU patients, families and clinicians.
Significance: The proposed study is significant because it informs the integration of family members’ voices as a non-pharmacological intervention for delirium care. The intervention may enable the implementation of digital family presence to minimise the impacts of restrictions on physical presence imposed by units and the COVID-19 pandemic. The FamVR may optimise the reorientation and communication of intensive care patients by incorporating their first language into the content and strengthening the family-centred care approach. As this is a pilot study, it may inform a more extensive study using the same methods, which may, in turn, establish the utility of the FamVR.Research Summary:
All 15 patients who underwent the Family Member's Voice Reorientation (FAMVR) intervention were observed to be alert and calm or slightly drowsy, which was indicated by a score ranging from 0 to -2 on the Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale (RASS). This scale is used to measure how agitated, restless, anxious, alert, calm, or sleepy a person is. The highest score on this scale is +4, which indicates combativeness, while the lowest is -5, which indicates unrousable.A total of 15 family members were recruited to provide the FAMVR intervention. After the intervention, interviews were conducted with 17 participants, including patients, family members, and clinical staff. They found the intervention valuable and acceptable and felt that it provided comfort and positive reactions to the patients. The family members also felt more connected to their loved ones.
Additionally, the nursing staff reported that FAMVR helped them engage better with their patients and made their job easier as they found family members accessible even in their absence.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0057
Date of REC Opinion
7 Mar 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion