Tuesday, July 13, 2010

INQRI Team Receives Funding from the Greenwall Foundation

Congratulations to our INQRI team at the University of Pittsburgh (Mary Beth Happ, Amber Barnato and team) who were recently awarded a grant from the Greenwall Foundation Kornfeld Program on Bioethics and Patient Care for a companion study to their INQRI project.

"SPEACS 2: Improving Patient Communication and Quality Outcomes in the ICU" is their INQRI-funded study, which examines the value of a nurse-generated and nurse-led innovation by testing the impact of a computer-based nurse communication training and materials program (SPEACS-2) on patient care outcomes: nursing care quality (coma-free days, physical restraint use, pain symptom management, pressure ulcers, patient/family satisfaction with communication), clinical outcomes(ventilator-free days, ICU/hospital days discharge disposition) and cost.

Their new grant from Greenwall will allow them to complete a new study: "Patient Participation in Treatment Decisions Before and After a Program to Facilitate Patient Communication in the ICU."  The overall goal of this project is to explore the participation of nonspeaking critically ill patients in decisions about life-sustaining treatment (LST) and the clinical ethical implications of such participation. This companion study provides a unique opportunity to illuminate potential changes and ethical considerations regarding patient self-determination through participation in LST decisions in the ICU.

Congratulations!

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