Experiences with Remote Communication in Adult Intensive Care Units During the COVID19 Pandemic: A Systematic Qualitative Review Protocol

Introduction: The restrictions on family visits to intensive care units (ICUs) during COVID-19 pandemic posed substantial challenges to communication among critically ill adults, their families, and health care teams. In response, diverse remote communication strategies were developed and implemented to maintain engagement. Nevertheless, the experiences of patients, families, and health professionals with these strategies remain dispersed across individual qualitative studies, limiting the consolidation of evidence in this area.

Goals and Methods:  This systematic review (Prospero:CRD42022383603) aims to synthesize the experiences of critically ill adults, their families, and health care professionals with remote communication in ICUs during COVID-19 pandemic. The review will be conducted in accordance with JBI methodology. Eligible studies will include those published after January 2020 that explore the perspectives of patients, families, or health care professionals when using remote communication in ICUs during the pandemic. A comprehensive search strategy will be designed to identify both published and unpublished qualitative studies in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Study selection, critical appraisal, and data extraction will be undertaken independently by two reviewers. Findings will be synthesized using the JBI meta-aggregation approach and reported in narrative form, with a ConQual Summary of Findings provided.

Expected Results: This review is expected to produce a comprehensive synthesis of the qualitative evidence on the experiences of critically ill adults or their families, or health care professionals with remote communication in ICUs during COVID-19 pandemic. The aggregation of findings will offer insights into how remote communication influenced family engagement, patient–family relationships, and professional–family interactions.

Conclusions: By synthesizing qualitative evidence, this review will enhance understanding of how remote communication shaped relationships and decision-making in ICUs, providing a foundation for future interventions in similar crisis contexts.