Key Insights From the International ICU Diary Conference 2025.
Peter Nydahl, Bev Ewens, Anne-Sophie Debue and 15 others
PMID 41913061WHAT IT FOUND
Attendees rated an ICU diary conference highly, but the report did not test whether diaries improve patient or family outcomes.
Key findings
01418 participants joined the sessions, and 76 took part in the evaluations.
02Attendees rated the overall conference experience mean 9.1 out of 10; the digital diaries session was rated 9.3.
03Session summaries reported that diary use remains variable across countries, hindered by limited awareness, staffing constraints and lack of standardised adoption protocols.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a conference report and attendee survey, not a study of patients receiving ICU diaries. It has no control group or comparison of diary versus usual care. Only 76 of 418 participants completed evaluations, so the ratings may not represent all attendees. Session summaries include expert presentations, personal testimonies and background citations rather than measured outcomes. Speakers and topics were chosen by the organising team, and some authors had diary-related commercial or organisational interests.
Declared interests
The funding statement reported nothing. Several authors had ICU diary or digital communication interests: one was employed by a non-profit that developed a free diary web application, one founded a digital ICU communication provider, one co-founded an organisation that received philanthropic support for diary projects, and one had a consulting company distributing diaries. Other named authors reported no conflicts.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the high satisfaction ratings or session summaries as proof that ICU diaries reduce PTSD, depression, or distress. The paper did not test patient or family outcomes; it reported a conference and attendee evaluations.