Intensive care units (ICUs) can be a particularly challenging environment for patients who are mentally vulnerable. In addition to the physical stress associated with critical illness and its management, there are physiological and psychosocial factors that can negatively impact a patient’s mental health. Approximately half of ICU survivors will experience post-intensive care syndrome, a set of emotional, neuropsychological and physical sequelae that can significantly affect patients’ functionality and quality of life, both in the short and long term. The main objective of this study is to investigate whether the ICU Recovery Answers (ICURA) digital follow-up platform can effectively detect emotional and cognitive problems in critically ill patients and its impact on functionality and health-related quality of life during the first year after ICU discharge.

Multicentre longitudinal prospective study involving ICU adult patients, with randomised follow-up comparing a telemedicine monitoring programme versus usual medical care during 1 year after discharge. A total of 360 participants will be recruited during their ICU admission in two hospitals in Spain. Efficacy outcomes will focus on participants’ level of functioning, assessed with the WHO Short Disability Assessment Schedule, and quality of life, measured with the 12-Item Short Form Survey at 1, 6 and 12 months after ICU discharge. Emotional state and cognitive impairment will be evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 and Treatment-Outcome Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment by telephone at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after ICU discharge.

The implementation of this project is expected to have a direct impact on the satisfaction of ICU survivors, improving their well-being, personalised follow-up and quality of life. Results from this study will be disseminated at various scientific conferences, national and international meetings, and will be shared with the general public and other relevant parties. The dissemination of these results will occur through scientific publications, allowing the medical and scientific community to benefit from the study’s findings. Ethics approval from the Ethics Board of Parc Taulí Foundation and Balearic Islands with reference numbers 2022/3031 and IB 5072/22 PI: Protocol version 1 of 18 November 2022.

NCT06504979.

Co-design of the PREDICT-Kidney online tool by patients, members of the public and healthcare professionals (HCPs), to support the communication of the risk of recurrence following surgical treatment for kidney cancer.

Qualitative co-design study. Using an iterative process, feedback was collected (via workshops), prioritised and implemented.

Online workshops with participants from across the UK were conducted between December 2023 and November 2024.

18 adult participants, including patients surgically treated for kidney cancer, members of the public without a history of kidney cancer and HCPs involved in kidney cancer care.

To produce an online tool to support the communication of risk of kidney cancer recurrence that is easy to use, easy to understand and acceptable to stakeholders. Secondary outcomes are the properties of the feedback collected, including volume and type.

Across nine workshops, 99 discrete feedback items were collected, resulting in 71 actionable changes to the initial prototype tool. Differences in priorities were observed between participant groups, especially around the inclusion of information about competing risks of death. Participants valued the tool for improving consistency of follow-up information, supporting shared decision-making and providing multiple visual formats to communicate risk. Iterative feedback led to refinements in terminology, design, content and delivery, including adjustments to the presentation of recurrence and mortality risk.

A co-design approach was used to improve the PREDICT-Kidney online tool to align with the needs of patients and HCPs. A feasibility study is required to evaluate its use and impact in clinical practice.