Humanism during the COVID-19 pandemic: video call as a strategy to satisfy the communication needs of Intensive Care Unit patients and their family members.

Telehealth and Medicine Today April 30, 2024
Michelle Grunauer, MD, PhD, Fernando Ortega, MD, MA, PhD, Paola Yépez, MD, Manuel Jibaja, MD, Andrea P. Icaza-Freire, MD, Jorge W. Velez, MD, Mario F. Arboleda, MD, María F. García, MD

Background:

Patients affected by the COVID-19 pandemic required physical/social isolation due to the transmissibility of SARs CoV-2; those hospitalized in healthcare facilities often suffered loneliness due to a complete separation from their loved ones through visitor restrictions.(1) Human contact and movement were restricted to contain the spread of disease. When this kind of restriction must be employed, the “Guidance for Managing Ethical Issues in Infectious Disease Outbreaks”, states that it is necessary to provide people with “effective alternative communication strategies”. (2)

Methods: This is an observational descriptive study that uses qualitative variables to analyze information obtained by virtual focus groups consisting of either medical professionals or family members of hospitalized patients in the ICU of the Eugenio Espejo Hospital (EEH)...

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