Putting measurement on a diet: development of a core set of indicators for quality improvement in the ICU using a Delphi method

BACKGROUND: The number and efficacy of indicators used to monitor and improve the quality of care in Intensive Care Units (ICU) is debatable. This study aimed to select a consensus-based core set of indicators for effective quality improvement in the ICU. METHODS: A Delphi study with a panel of intensivists, ICU nurses, and former ICU patients or relatives (n = 34) from general, teaching, and academic hospitals. Panelists completed a questionnaire in which they scored 69 preselected quality indicators on relevance using a nine-point Likert scale. Indicators were categorized using the rated relevance score into: ‘accepted, ‘equivocal’ and ‘excluded’. Questionnaire results were discussed in focus groups to reach consensus on the final set. RESULTS: Response rates for the questionnaire and focus groups were 100 and 68%, respectively. Consensus was reached on a final set of 17 quality indicators including patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient reported experience measures (PREMs). Other quality indicators relate to the organization and outcome of ICU care, including safety culture, ICU standardized mortality ratio, and the process indicator ‘learning from and improving after serious incidents’. CONCLUSIONS: ICU clinicians and former patients and relatives developed a consensus-based core set of ICU quality indicators that is relatively short but comprehensive and particularly tailored to end-users needs. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-08236-3.