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This pilot study aims to implement and evaluate a volunteer-facilitated Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Diary Program at UConn Health's John Dempsey Hospital. ICU diaries are a low-cost communication tool that helps patients process their critical illness experience and potentially reduce symptoms of Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS), which affects 50-70% of ICU survivors with cognitive impairments, psychiatric illness, and physical limitations. Our research will explore how undergraduate student volunteers can facilitate the implementation of ICU diaries by maintaining daily entries about patients' ICU experiences in simple, non-medical language. We will recruit approximately 30 adult ICU patients and 40 ICU staff members over a 12-week period. Patients will receive diaries during their ICU stay, with entries made by volunteers, staff, and family members. Follow-up phone calls at 3 months after discharge will gather feedback on patients' experiences with the diaries. Staff pre and post implementation surveys will be administered to evaluate staff perceptions of volunteer integration. The findings from this research may help establish a sustainable model for implementing volunteer-facilitated ICU diary programs in settings with limited resources. This knowledge is important because while ICU diaries have shown benefits in reducing PICS symptoms in European healthcare settings, they have not been widely adopted in the US due to staffing and resource constraints. A volunteer-facilitated approach may provide an accessible way to deliver this evidence-based communication tool to improve long-term outcomes for critically ill patients.
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