Patient and Family Engagement

Family inclusion in adult intensive care unit (ICU) rounds is recommended by critical care professional societies, yet widespread uptake of this practice is limited. A key barrier cited by ICU clinicians is insufficient evidence to support this practice. There is a need for robust evidence to support family participation in adult ICU rounds and influence change to routine clinical care. The primary purpose of this study is to assess whether family participation in adult ICU rounds improves family engagement in care. The secondary objectives are to assess family satisfaction, and anxiety and depression, to explore user experiences of family participation in ICU rounds, and to evaluate strategies to improve family member recruitment and retention rates. This is a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial (n=194) at 6 Canadian ICUs. The stepped wedge cluster randomized trial is a pragmatic study design that overcomes methodological limitations in evaluating a healthcare service delivery intervention. In the stepped-wedge cluster design, there is random and sequential crossover of clusters from control (phase 1) to intervention (phase 2) until all clusters are exposed. The stepped-wedge design also allows each site to function as its own control. The stepped-wedge design is more powerful than a parallel design when substantial cluster level effects are present.

The goal of this pilot study is to learn if virtual peer support groups and strengths-based skills training can help family caregivers of ICU survivors providing ongoing support to ICU survivors after hospital discharge. The main question it aims to answer is: \- Are virtual peer support groups and/or strengths-based skills support feasible and acceptable for family caregivers of ICU survivors? Researchers will compare the intervention group (virtual peer support groups or strengths-based skills training) to the control group (no intervention) to see if the interventions improve caregiver outcomes and assess feasibility and acceptability. Participants will: * Participate in either virtual peer support groups or strengths-based skills training sessions (if assigned to the intervention arm). * Provide feedback on the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions (if assigned to the intervention arm). * Complete surveys and follow-up questionnaires (either online or by phone) to measure outcomes.

The primary aim of this trial is to evaluate if the NGAGE tool improves care engagement in family members of ICU patients. The secondary objectives are to assess if the NGAGE tool improves communication, care satisfaction, psychological symptoms, and quality of life in family members of ICU patients. The NGAGE trial is a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial of 6 Canadian adult ICUs, involving 194 family members. A family member will be considered anyone with a biological, emotional, or legal relationship with the patient and whom the patient wishes to be involved in their care. There will be random and sequential crossover of clusters from control (phase 1) to intervention (phase 2) until all clusters are exposed. The intervention group will have access to the NGAGE tool, which has modules to Learn, Engage, and Report. "Engage" allows the family member to indicate their desired engagement activity, which is then transmitted to the treating healthcare team to provide the requested activity. "Learn" contains educational capsules about the ICU environment and information about care participation. "Report" allows the family member to provide real-time feedback to the healthcare team. The primary endpoint is the FAMily Engagement (FAME) score within 1 week of ICU discharge. Secondary endpoints are family-centered outcomes, including communication quality, satisfaction, and mental health (anxiety and depression) scores within 1 week of ICU discharge, and quality of life and mental health (anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic distress symptoms) at 6 months. The mean difference of the validated FAME score, a continuous variable, will be compared between groups.