Reported impact and protective factors of the care partner role during persistent critical illness: a content analysis.

Background: Patients with persistent critical illness experience prolonged multi-system morbidity, functional impairments, and chronic conditions. As a result, these patients have prolonged intensive care unit admissions. If discharged, they return home with long-term medical dependencies.

Relational skill training for patient engagement and the creation of a trauma-informed critical care.

Patients and families in critical care have a high likelihood of previous and re-experienced trauma. Unaddressed, physical, and psychological impacts of these traumas can worsen outcomes for patients and families. A trauma-informed care approach has been proposed for critical care; however, training programs do not include relational competencies or de-escalation techniques, risking the re-traumatization of patients and families in critical care and negatively impacting clinicians.