Improving ICU family meetings: how communication quality affects outcomes
Official title: Communication quality during family meetings in the intensive care unit: how does quality impact health outcomes?
Funded at Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr · NIH-11362176 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project studies how the way doctors and ICU teams talk with family members affects stress, satisfaction, and care for seriously ill patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hershey, United States) |
| Project start | August 16, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $560,904 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NR020886-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11362176 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Family members of ICU patients who cannot advocate for themselves and are involved in care decisions.
✕Less likely to help
Family members not directly involved in decision-making or those without contact with ICU care teams may see little direct benefit.
What this research studies
In the ICU, clear and compassionate communication with family members is crucial for decisions when patients can’t speak for themselves. The study will look at how sociodemographic factors like education, money, and neighborhood influence conversations between families and clinicians, and how these conversations affect trust and perceived care. It will follow about 320 family members across five ICUs in three states to see how communication quality relates to family stress and to care experiences. Researchers will use observational data and questionnaires over time to uncover pathways linking communication to outcomes. The goal is to identify actionable ways to improve family-clinician dialogue and family-centered care in the ICU.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better communication in the ICU could reduce family distress and improve satisfaction with care.
How similar studies have gone: Previous ICU communication studies have had mixed results, highlighting the need to understand sociodemographic influences.
Where this research is happening
-
Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr
Hershey, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Van Scoy, Lauren Jodi — Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr
- Study coordinator: Van Scoy, Lauren Jodi
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.