The way care is delivered in a setting of the intensive care, and the impact of the approaches chosen, are little explored and little-known topics yet crucial for both patients and the staff involved.
This is why the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) is particularly proud to highlight the recent work entitled Exploring inappropriate levels of care in intensive care, which results from a close and fruitful collaboration between the IRCM's Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit and the CIUSSS de l'Est-de-l'Ile-de-Montréal.
Working at the confluence of health and ethical reflection, with the intend to actively participate in the improvement of the healthcare network, the team led by Dr. Eric Racine set out to explore and understand the issue of inappropriate levels of care in an intensive care unit, from a contextual and team perspective, through interviews with nurses, respiratory therapists and intensive care specialists at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital.
This field research focused on understanding the causes and consequences of inappropriate levels of care, known to generate moral distress among nurses and other ICU professionals, as well as potential solutions.
This study is part of a 5-phase participatory living laboratory project on inappropriate levels of care.
‘’This aspect of the research has enabled us to gain a better understanding of the levels of inappropriate care in the intensive care unit, and to highlight the relevance of exploring complex ethical issues at team level," explains Dr. Eric Racine, adding: “This is a first step towards a fine-tuned understanding that will, in time, enable us to sketch out avenues for solutions applicable in intensive care environments.’’
The team would like to thank the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie for its support of this work.
D’Anjou B, Ahern S, Martel V, et al. Exploring inappropriate levels of care in intensive care. Nursing Ethics. 2024;0(0). doi:10.1177/09697330241265454
