Quality of Life in Intensive Care Unit Survivors-Family Member Dyads: A Conceptual Framework and Longitudinal Study Protocol.

BACKGROUND

Critical illness threatens the Quality of Life (QoL) of both ICU survivors and their family members through Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) and its family counterpart (PICS-F). These syndromes unfold within the ICU survivor-family member dyad, yet their dyadic interdependence and joint trajectories remain insufficiently explored.

AIM: To develop a conceptual framework and study protocol for a longitudinal investigation of dyadic QoL in ICU survivor-family member dyads, with explicit attention to reciprocal interdependence over time.

DESIGN AND

METHODS

A longitudinal study will enrol ICU survivor-family member dyads assessed at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months post-ICU discharge in two Italian ICUs. The 1-month timepoint captures early PICS and PICS-F manifestations while minimising post-discharge confounding. A qualitative phenomenological component will explore how survivorship is experienced within the dyad. Dyadic QoL trajectories will be examined using descriptive statistics, χ2 tests, Student's t-tests and Mann-Whitney U-tests. Longitudinal analyses will apply hierarchical linear models to capture trajectories over time. Qualitative data will be analysed manually following Cohen's hermeneutic phenomenological approach.

CONCLUSION

This protocol advances the conceptualisation of post-ICU outcomes as dyadic and interdependent, integrating quantitative and qualitative evidence within a relational framework.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Findings will inform nurse-led follow-up interventions targeting ICU survivors and family members as an interdependent unit, supporting person- and family-centred care across the post-ICU trajectory.