Title: Post-Intensive Care Syndrome: Early Treatment and Measurement of Mental Health Markers through Journaling Intervention
By: Joshua Loomis

Abstract:
Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) and Post-Intensive Care Syndrome-Family (PICS-F) are a debilitating conglomeration of symptoms that affect the physical, cognitive, and mental health domains of patients and families after an intensive care unit (ICU) stay. PICS is a relatively new phenomenon in critical care; therefore, the research on how best to treat it is still evolving. While there is ongoing research on how to best treat all aspects of PICS, mental health of patients and families after an ICU stay has garnered much attention in the critical care world. Several interventions have been tested for how best to treat the mental health factors of PICS, but there is yet to be a universal treatment. This original research project hypothesized that patients and/or families who journal while in the ICU would see an improvement in the mental health markers of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness; this was measured with a 5-point Likert scale pretest and posttest that were completed while the patients and/or family was in the ICU. The data shows that journaling while in the ICU had an improvement in the mean scores of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness in both patients and families while in the ICU. These findings bolster the argument for journals to be part of a standard ICU admission for patients and families who are at high-risk for development of PICS.

Objectives:
To determine if a journaling intervention while in the ICU can decrease feelings of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness.

Methodology:
As the principal investigator, I selected certain families or patients to be in this study. They received a pretest and an identical posttest in which they rated their feelings of depression, hopelessness, and anxiety on a 5-point Likert scale. They were then encouraged to journal while in the ICU. The mean scores of the pretest and posttest were compared to determine if the journaling intervention decreased the aforementioned mental health markers.