ICU healthcare staff reconnecting with families during COVID-19: the ICU-open project.

Background. — The coronavirus disease of 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic led to strict visitation restrictions in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), negatively impacting patients, families, and healthcare workers (HCWs). The ICU-open project is a phased approach to engage with ICU patients’ families and reintroduce family visits during the Covid-19 pandemic. The ICU-open project embodies the unwavering commitment to a family-centred approach of the Cà Foncello-Treviso Hospital’s ICU staff. The present work reports the perception of the project amongst HCWs and provides a snapshot of the psychological well-being of the ICU staff after the project. Methodology. — The 120 ICU HCWs who participated in the project from May 2020 to June 2021 were invited to answer an online survey. It assessed demographic information, project-related variables, attitudes towards family- and patient-centred care, and psycho-social variables, using ad-hoc items and validated measures including the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Moral Injury Events Scale, and Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory. Results/discussion. — Ninety-two HCWs (72% nurses; 65.5% female) completed the survey. HCWs highly valued the ICU-open project for both themselves and patients’ families. Positive perception of the project phases was associated with reduced levels of perceived moral transgressions. One-third of the participants reported moderate to severe levels of anxiety and depression, with notable post-traumatic growth observed in various dimensions.