Role of Psychosocial Care on ICU Trauma

CONTEXT: Patients treated in intensive care units (ICU) though receive the best medical attention are found to suffer from trauma typically attributed to the ICU environment. Biopsychosocial approach in ICUs is found to minimize ICU trauma. AIMS: This study investigates the role of psychosocial care on patients in ICU after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The study included 250 post-operative CABG patients from five corporate hospitals. The combination of between subject and correlation design was used. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ICU psychosocial care scale (ICUPCS) and ICU trauma scale (ICUTS) were used to measure the psychosocial care and trauma. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: ANOVA and simple and multiple regression were applied. RESULTS: Hospitals significantly differed in psychosocial care provided in ICUs. Higher the psychosocial care in ICU, lower was the ICU trauma experienced and vice versa. Psychosocial care was a significant major predictor of ICU trauma. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests emphasis on psychosocial aspects in ICU care for optimizing prognosis.