Browsing by Author "Taylor, Tracy"

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    Development Of A Brief Measure Of Communication Quality: The 5- And 10-Item Family Inpatient Communication Surveys
    (Oxford University Press, 2022) Burke, Emily; Slaven, James; Taylor, Tracy; Monahan, Patrick; Sachs, Greg; Torke, Alexia; Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    Communication quality between clinical care teams and families impacts important outcomes like satisfaction, depression, and anxiety. Assessment tools must be efficient and reliable to be useful in the clinical environment. We report the development of 5 and 10-item versions of the validated 30-item Family Inpatient Communication Survey (FICS). Data were from 364 surrogate decision makers (SDMs) for incapacitated older adults in the ICU. Most SDMs were adult children (66.8%). SDMs were 70.9% female, 68.9% white, with a mean age of 58.3. Exploratory factor analysis revealed high internal reliability for the single-factor FICS5 (α= .88) and two-factor FICS10 (α= .93). The FICS10 reliably measures two subscales: information (α= .91) and emotional support (α=.81). Good discriminant and predictive validity were demonstrated when comparing total scores to outcomes at 6-8 weeks after hospital discharge, including anxiety (correlation coefficient (ρ)= -.13; p=.0234 ), depression (ρ =-.15; p=.0076), decision regret (ρ =--.15; p=.0066), and satisfaction (ρ =-..48; p<.0001). Repeating analysis with a new sample (n=188) revealed similar results with Cronbach’s alpha ranging from .81 to .93. The FICS5 revealed significant associations (p<.05) at 6-8 weeks after discharge with distress (-.22), while the FICS10 demonstrated significant associations with distress (-.28), anxiety (-.20), depression (-.19) and decision regret (-.27). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated adequate fit (CFI: FICS5= .994, FICS10= .994; RMSEA: FICS5= .093, FICS10= .103). The FICS provides clinicians and interventionists with a reliable, low burden tool to evaluate communication quality and respond quickly, which could impact satisfaction and other important outcomes for patients and families.
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    Feasibility Of Ecological Momentary Assessment Of Surrogates For Cognitively Impaired Icu Patients: A Pilot Study
    (Oxford University Press, 2022) Taylor, Tracy; Burke, Emily; Slaven, James; Pfeffer, Bruce; Varner Perez, Shelley; Banks, Sarah; Torke, Alexia; Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    We explore the feasibility of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) with surrogate decision makers (SDMs) of critically ill hospitalized adults, to obtain in-the-moment participant-reported data. In this small pilot, 23 SDMs were approached. 82.6% were white, 53.9% were female, and 53.9% were 55 years and older. 25% were spouse or partner, 25% were adult children, 30% were parents, and 20% were other relations. Average ICU length of stay was 13.46 days (range 1.73-77.79). 13 SDMs enrolled (56.52%). Using Twilio, an automated text was sent to SDMs containing a secure link to the surveys. Up to five questions about anxiety, depression, distress, communication, and spiritual well-being were sent up to twice per day. Most participants (84.62%) completed EMA surveys for 5 or more days. Most SDMs stated that the surveys were not burdensome. Of those who declined participation (n= 10), accessibility to a smartphone, stress, and availability to complete texted surveys were noted as barriers to participation. The data suggest that EMA is a valuable tool to inform clinical interventionists and care providers interacting with SDMs. Future research will assess EMA with a larger group of SDMs, utilizing questions that help identify gaps in communication and opportunities to provide support to SDMs. Although surrogates are often under high stress in the ICU setting, they are willing to provide real-time EMA feedback on their experiences. EMA can provide a “just in time” option for research and clinical intervention that focuses on bridging gaps that may contribute to better outcomes for SDMs.
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    The Validity And Reliability Of The Distress Thermometer In Family Surrogates Of ICU Patients
    (Oxford University Press, 2022) O'Brien, Emma; Burke, Emily; Slaven, James; Taylor, Tracy; Torke, Alexia; Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    Brief, reliable assessment tools are highly valued in both research and clinical settings. The single-item Distress Thermometer (DT) asks participants to rank their overall level of distress from zero to ten. Similar measures of distress perform well in oncology populations, but the validity of the DT has not been well tested with other populations. To determine its validity and reliability, we analyzed data from family surrogates (n=188) of critically ill ICU patients. Surrogates were asked to rate their distress during the first four days of the patient’s ICU stay and 6-8 weeks after discharge (n=127). Data were analyzed using Spearman non-parametric correlation due to the distributions of the data. DT scores at both baseline and follow-up were significantly correlated with anxiety (GAD-7: correlation coefficient (ρ)=.527, p<.0001; ρ=.543, p<.0001, respectively), depression (PHQ-9: ρ=.480, p<.0001; ρ=.399, p=.0002), distress (Kessler-6: ρ=.477, p<.0001; ρ=.528, p<.0001), and negative religious coping (ρ=.149, p=.0426; ρ=.238, p=.0074). Results also indicated that spiritual well-being at baseline and follow-up (FACIT: ρ=-.391, p<.0001, ρ=-.443, p<.0001) and positive religious coping at baseline (RCOPE: ρ=-.164, p=.0253) have an inverse relationship with overall distress. At baseline, surrogates with better positive religious coping and/or more involvement in organizational religious activity (ρ=-.189, p=.0106) were more likely to report lower distress. The DT could be an efficient, single item predictor of outcomes that impact patient and family care. Future research could confirm its validity as a measure of distress, in a variety of clinical populations and environments that could inform clinical care for patients and families.