ICU Nurses' Perceptions of Family-Inclusive Outdoor Excursions: Enhancing Family Engagement and Humanisation in Intensive Care.
Nobuko Sasano, Yuki Odajima
PMID 41731341WHAT IT FOUND
Seven ICU nurses perceived family-inclusive outdoor excursions as helping patients recover, calming families and seeing patients as people, but these were their perceptions, not measured outcomes.
Key findings
01Nurses reported perceived improvements in patient strength, sleep, recovery and favourable outcomes, and they rarely saw deterioration attributable to the excursions.
02Nurses said family members felt relief, visited more, joined other care activities and encouraged patients directly after the excursions.
03Nurses said the outings helped them see patients as people with lives and families, and they documented patient and family observations for the team.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only seven ICU nurses were interviewed at one hospital, so the themes may not apply elsewhere. The study reported nurses' perceptions, not measured patient or family outcomes. Patients and family members were not interviewed, so their views were not captured. The study was conducted by an intensivist, which may have made nurses less willing to express negative views.
Declared interests
The study was funded by JSPS KAKENHI grant 23K08446, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that outdoor excursions improve patient recovery. Seven nurses reported their perceptions, and the study did not measure patient outcomes or include patients and families.