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Understanding Communication Barriers in Acute Care: A Mixed-Methods Needs Assessment Among Healthcare Providers Caring for Non-Verbal Patients With Spinal Cord Injury and Tracheostomy in the ICU

27 augustus 2026 bijgewerkt door: Jason Chui, University of British Columbia

Communication impairment is common among critically ill patients who are mechanically ventilated, have tracheostomies, or have neurological injuries such as spinal cord injury. In acute care settings, inability to communicate contributes to patient distress, impairs symptom assessment, and may delay care. Although a range of communication supports exist, many are difficult to use in patients with severe weakness, limited endurance, or fluctuating cognition. More advanced assistive communication systems, including eye-tracking and brain-computer interface platforms, have shown promise in chronic neurological populations but have not been well adapted to the practical realities of acute care.

This study will use a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design to better understand communication barriers in acute care from the perspective of frontline healthcare providers. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with nurses and speech-language pathologists working with patients who have spinal cord injury, tracheostomy, or other causes of impaired verbal communication in ICU and related acute care settings. Findings from these interviews will inform development of a structured survey to be distributed to a broader group of nurses and speech-language pathologists. Qualitative and quantitative findings will then be integrated to identify priority communication needs, limitations of current strategies, and practical requirements for future assistive communication tools. Findings will inform development of clinically relevant communication solutions for acute care environments.

Studie Overzicht

Toestand

Nog niet aan het werven

Conditie

Gedetailleerde beschrijving

This study will employ a two-stage sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. In the first stage, semi-structured interviews (N=10-15) and, where feasible, focus groups will be conducted with ICU clinicians and rehabilitation staff to identify communication barriers and priority use cases for assistive communication in nonverbal patients. Themes emerging from qualitative analysis will inform the development of a structured survey, which will be administered to a broader cohort of clinical staff (N=80-100) to quantify the prevalence and relative importance of identified communication gaps. Findings from the qualitative and quantitative phases will be integrated to generate a clinical requirements framework to inform the future development of assistive communication tools for acute care settings.

Studietype

Observationeel

Inschrijving (Geschat)

100

Contacten en locaties

In dit gedeelte vindt u de contactgegevens van degenen die het onderzoek uitvoeren en informatie over waar dit onderzoek wordt uitgevoerd.

Studiecontact

  • Naam: Jason Chui, MBChB, FRCPC
  • Telefoonnummer: 66378 604-875-4111
  • E-mail: jason.chui@ubc.ca

Studie Contact Back-up

Studie Locaties

  • Canada
    • British Columbia
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V5Z 1M9
        • Vancouver General Hospital

Deelname Criteria

Onderzoekers zoeken naar mensen die aan een bepaalde beschrijving voldoen, de zogenaamde geschiktheidscriteria. Enkele voorbeelden van deze criteria zijn iemands algemene gezondheidstoestand of eerdere behandelingen.

Geschiktheidscriteria

Leeftijden die in aanmerking komen voor studie

  • Volwassen
  • Oudere volwassene

Accepteert gezonde vrijwilligers

Ja

Bemonsteringsmethode

Kanssteekproef

Studie Bevolking

Care givers to the non-verbal patients with communication barrier

Beschrijving

Inclusion Criteria:

  • be a healthcare provider such as physicians, registered nurses, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, or physiotherapists;
  • work in ICU, spine, neurosurgical, or related acute care inpatient settings;
  • have experience caring for patients with impaired verbal communication, including patients with tracheostomy, mechanical ventilation, or spinal cord injury; and
  • be able to provide informed consent. A small subset of family caregivers may also be included if they have direct experience supporting communication for patients with impaired verbal communication in these settings.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals not directly involved in the care of patients with impaired verbal communication in the relevant clinical settings
  • Trainees who are not yet independently practicing, unless they are participating in an independent clinical role
  • Family caregivers without direct experience supporting communication needs in the acute care setting

Studie plan

Dit gedeelte bevat details van het studieplan, inclusief hoe de studie is opgezet en wat de studie meet.

Hoe is de studie opgezet?

Ontwerpdetails

Wat meet het onderzoek?

Primaire uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
High-priority Communication Needs in Acute Care
Tijdsspanne: At completion of the 3-5-minute survey on Day 1
Communication needs identified as high priority by healthcare providers based on their ratings of the importance and frequency of communication needs experienced by patients with impaired verbal communication in acute care settings. The survey will also assess which communication functions healthcare providers consider most important for inclusion in future assistive communication interfaces.
At completion of the 3-5-minute survey on Day 1
Priority of Communication Needs in Acute Care
Tijdsspanne: Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4
Healthcare providers' ratings of the importance and frequency of communication needs experienced by patients with impaired verbal communication in acute care settings. Priority communication needs will be identified through thematic analysis of interviews and quantified in the Stage 2 survey using importance and frequency ratings.
Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4

Secundaire uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Current Communication Strategies and Perceived Limitations
Tijdsspanne: Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4
Identification and characterization of communication strategies currently used by healthcare providers, including low-technology and augmentative and alternative communication approaches, and perceived limitations or barriers associated with their use. Findings will be derived from qualitative interviews and summarized quantitatively in the survey where applicable.
Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4
Priority Communication Functions for Bedside Use
Tijdsspanne: Stage 2 survey; approximately Month 4
Healthcare providers' prioritization of communication functions considered most appropriate for a simplified bedside assistive communication interface. Participants will select a limited number of communication functions from those identified during the qualitative phase.
Stage 2 survey; approximately Month 4
Workflow and Implementation Feasibility Requirements
Tijdsspanne: Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4
Healthcare providers' perceptions of practical requirements for implementing assistive communication tools in acute care, including acceptable setup time, training requirements, workflow integration, and environmental or clinical barriers.
Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4

Andere uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Communication System Functional Requirements
Tijdsspanne: Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4
Identification of functional and interface requirements for future assistive communication systems, including required communication tasks, presentation/interface considerations, contextual information, and usability requirements. Requirements will be identified through thematic analysis and prioritized using survey findings.
Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4

Medewerkers en onderzoekers

Hier vindt u mensen en organisaties die betrokken zijn bij dit onderzoek.

Sponsor

University of British Columbia

Medewerkers

Vancouver General Hospital

Studie record data

Deze datums volgen de voortgang van het onderzoeksdossier en de samenvatting van de ingediende resultaten bij ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieverslagen en gerapporteerde resultaten worden beoordeeld door de National Library of Medicine (NLM) om er zeker van te zijn dat ze voldoen aan specifieke kwaliteitscontrolenormen voordat ze op de openbare website worden geplaatst.

Bestudeer belangrijke data

Studie start (Geschat)

1 augustus 2026

Primaire voltooiing (Geschat)

1 december 2027

Studie voltooiing (Geschat)

1 december 2027

Studieregistratiedata

Eerst ingediend

28 juli 2026

Eerst ingediend dat voldeed aan de QC-criteria

27 augustus 2026

Eerst geplaatst (Werkelijk)

31 augustus 2026

Updates van studierecords

Laatste update geplaatst (Werkelijk)

31 augustus 2026

Laatste update ingediend die voldeed aan QC-criteria

27 augustus 2026

Laatst geverifieerd

1 augustus 2026

Meer informatie

Termen gerelateerd aan deze studie

Trefwoorden

Aanvullende relevante MeSH-voorwaarden

Andere studie-ID-nummers

  • H26-01406

Plan Individuele Deelnemersgegevens (IPD)

Bent u van plan om gegevens van individuele deelnemers (IPD) te delen?

NEE

Beschrijving IPD-plan

This study involves survey data only. Additional approval is required to share the data.

Informatie over medicijnen en apparaten, studiedocumenten

Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd geneesmiddel

Nee

Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd apparaatproduct

Nee

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