• Margo van Mol, Erwin Ista, and Monique van Dijk.
• Department of Intensive Care Adults, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: m.vanmol@erasmusmc.nl.
• Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2018 Dec 1; 49: 6-13.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to measure the effects of a newly developed follow-up programme on intensive care unit patient quality of care, as perceived by their relatives, and the appropriateness of the programme according to nurses.Methods And SettingThis before and after implementation study was conducted in a level III intensive care unit for adult patients and related follow-up wards and included 135 intensive care nurses and 105 general ward nurses. The implemented programme included a personalised poster, a revised discharge protocol and follow-up visits on the ward. Eligible relatives of patients who had remained in the intensive care for a minimum of 48 hours were included.Main Outcome Measures And ResultsTotal quality of care and communication were assessed by relatives as high according to the Quality Monitor. Most intensive care nurses evaluated the usefulness of the discharge protocol as positive (71.8% partly/totally agreed) and in accordance with the patients' needs (82.1% partly/totally agreed).ConclusionCommunication and general support as perceived by patients' relatives improved; however, no influence on the total quality of care of the revised discharge protocol was shown. Nurses considered the programme as useful. The intervention might enable nurses to better respond to the instrumental and affective needs of patients and their relatives.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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