Lee RM, Chunguang Gu, Kelly Cao and Wong YL
Background: To determine if a three-pronged toolkit is useful in facilitating communication regarding end of life care in a neuroscience intensive care unit (NICU).
Methods: This was an educative research strategy with pre and post-implementation surveys of family members and healthcare workers in the NICU. ICU patients for palliative care with the following criteria: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) less than 5 with sedation; severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy; severe intracerebral haemorrhage; severe traumatic brain injury as deemed unsalvageable by the neurosurgeon were chosen for a three-prong communication toolkit to be used between medical workers and family members.
Results: Healthcare workers found a significant improvement in communication with family members in terms of clarity of goals of care. There was no statistically significant difference in the family satisfaction score pre- and post-implementation of the toolkit.
Conclusions: We conclude that the toolkit is useful in assisting healthcare workers communicate with family members and in achieving clarity in terms of goals of care for patients whose death is imminent.
English 
Spanish 
Russian 
German 
French 
Japanese 
Portuguese 
Hindi