Nurse perspectives on supporting children and youth who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Many children who require hospitalization in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) are unable to or have difficulty communicating through speech, whether because of preexisting or acute conditions. Children who are unable to be heard and understood using only speech benefit from aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), including in hospital settings. This qualitative interview study sought to understand the perspectives of nurses on care and support for children who use or would benefit from aided AAC in the pediatric ICU.

Caregiver perceptions of an early mobility and communication protocol in the pediatric ICU.

Purpose: Early mobility (EM) and patient communication have known benefits for critically ill patients, but perceived barriers exist, notably related to family and caregiver concerns. Caregiver perceptions of an EM and communication therapy protocol in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) were assessed.

Methods: Caregivers of PICU patients at a free-standing academic children's hospital completed a survey using a Likert-type agreement scale on their perceptions surrounding the safety of EM, benefits of EM and communication, and barriers to EM and communication services.