Family Journaling to Reduce Stress Manifestations in Patients and Families After Critical Illness.

Background: Few studies have clearly provided evidence evaluating the effectiveness of family-written journals in reducing stress after critical illness.

Objective: Study whether critical care unit (CCU) patients and their families who participated in journaling compared to those who did not, experience lower stress manifestations after discharge.

Methods: Non-randomized controlled trial conducted with CCU patients who required mechanical ventilation for more than 24 hours and a CCU stay more than 72 hours, along with one of their family members.