The following is a summary of “Group Concept Mapping Conceptualizes High-Quality Care for Long-Stay Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Patients and Families,” published in the JANUARY 2023 issue of Pediatrics by Leland, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to employ a group concept mapping (GCM) to define and envision high-quality treatment for long-stay pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients.

They assembled an expert panel to clarify areas of high-quality treatment for this expanding patient group whose requirements still need to be met by transitory care models. A varied, interprofessional, multidisciplinary panel was composed of 31 healthcare professionals and 7 parents of patients who had previously had lengthy PICU admissions. With unrestricted free text replies, participants responded to the question, “For PICU patients & families suffering lengthy durations of stay, high-quality care from the medical staff includes-.” The judges divided the responses into individual statements, arranged them according to how closely their ideas aligned and assigned weights based on significance. Nonoverlapping clusters corresponding to high-quality care domains were produced via statement analysis utilizing GCM software via GroupWisdom.

The participants’ 265 rapid replies, which included 313 original ideas, produced 78 final statements that were sorted and rated. The 8 domains that made up the cluster map that best represented the data were as follows: The eight components of continuity of care are as follows: Family-Centered Care and Shared Decision Making, Humanizing the Patient, Clinician Supports and Resources, Multidisciplinary Coordination of Care, Family Well-Being, Anticipatory Guidance and Care Planning, Communication, and Continuity of Care.

GCM gave a group of medical experts and parents the authority to define and envision high-quality treatment for patients and families dealing with protracted PICU stays. The knowledge will help resolve issues with temporary PICU care methods.

Reference: jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(22)00716-8/fulltext