Abstract 12869: Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Teams and Loved Ones Communicating (CICU TaLC) Intervention is Acceptable and Improves Interprofessional Clinician Communication and Teamwork in Pediatric Pre-Family Meeting Huddles

Abstract

Introduction: Interprofessional teams often develop a care plan in pre-family meeting huddles before engaging with the family in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (CICU)—a process that can affect the course of the family meeting and alter team dynamics but often lacks optimal communication and teamwork. Hypothesis: An interprofessional team intervention for pre-meeting huddles in the CICU is acceptable and positively impacts teamwork. Methods: We enrolled and trained CICU clinicians in interprofessional communication skills with a focus on role clarity, then conducted a quasi-experimental pre-posttest study with clinicians participating in actual pre-family meeting huddles. Clinician acceptability was measured via survey and impact on team communication and teamwork in pre-meeting huddles was assessed using PACT novice, a TeamSTEPPS validated tool, on audio recorded and transcribed huddles. The tool evaluates the domains Team Structure , Leadership , Situation Monitoring , Mutual Support , and Communication on a five-point scale (1 = poor; 3 = average; 5 = excellent). Wilcoxon rank sum test assessed intervention impact on communication and teamwork at the meeting level comparing pre and post-intervention data. Results: 24 Clinicians enrolled in the intervention (92% retention) with 100% completion of training. All trained clinicians recommend CICU TALC to others and 96% believe it improved their participation in family meetings. In 58 huddles (28 pre and 30 post), team performance in all 5 domains were significantly (p< 0.001) higher in post-intervention huddles than in pre-intervention. Median (IQR) comparisons: Team structure [pre 2.00 (1.75, 2.00) vs. post 5.00 (5.00, 5.00)], Leadership [pre 3.00 (2.00, 3.00) vs. post 5.00 (5.00, 5.00)], Situation Monitoring [pre 3.00 (2.75, 3.00) vs. post 5.00 (4.00, 5.00)], Mutual Support [pre 3.00 (2.00, 3.25) vs. post 5.00 (5.00, 5.00)], and Communication [pre 3.00 (2.00, 4.00) vs. post 5.00 (5.00, 5.00)]. Conclusion: It is acceptable to implement an interprofessional team intervention to improve team communication and teamwork in interprofessional pre-family meeting huddles. Future research should assess broader impact of the intervention on clinicians, patients, and families.