Facilitators and barriers for palliative and end-of-life care in ICU. A sub-study of the European EPIC trial

Professor
Hanne Irene Jensen
Department of anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Lillebaelt Hospital/Department of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark

Project management

Project status	Open



Data collection dates
Start	01.01.2025
End	31.12.2028

Project in numbers

OPEN survey/clinical data
Expected # of participants	3,000
Included # of participants





Included participants with specimens
Specimens

Facilitators and barriers for palliative and end-of-life care in ICU. A sub-study of the European EPIC trial

Short summary

The European "Enhancing Palliative Care in ICU" (EPIC) study aims to improve palliative care in ICU via a RCT testing an intervention bundle (checklist, e-leaning and tele-medicine palliative care consultations). This sub-study identifies facilitators and barriers for palliative and end-of-life care in ICU via surveys (nested in the EPIC trial) and semi-structured interviews with patients, relatives, healthcare professionals and managers.

Rationale

In order to improve palliative and end-of-life care in ICU through implementation of the interventions tested in the EPIC study, knowledge about facilitators and barriers is needed. A number of studies have previously identified facilitators or barriers within four main areas: Palliative and end-of-life decision-making, Patient and family involvement, ICU environment, and Organizational structures. However, the studies are almost solely based on healthcare professionals' opinions, and the individual studies are mostly mono-national. Therefore, the aim of the current sub-study of the EPIC project is to map facilitators and barriers based on a broad group of national and international diverse participants using quantitative and qualitative methods.

Description of the cohort

Survey data from the EPIC trial will include ICU healthcare professionals, patients and relatives. In Denmark, semi-structured interviews will be cunducted with eight ICU patients, ten relatives, eight ICU nurses, eight ICU physicians and four medical directors and four nursing directors from different Danish ICUs. Additionally, interviews will be conducted with two nurses and two physicians from one EPIC participating ICU from each of the five participating countries together with informal knowledge gathering through study visits to the five ICUs.

Data and biological material

Survey and interview data

Collaborating researchers and departments

EPIC study group