Experiences with and needs for aftercare following the death of a loved one in the ICU: a mixed-methods study among bereaved relatives

Table 3 Aspects of aftercare for relatives of ICU patients

	Pre-COVID-19 (n = 25)	First wave (n = 39)	Second wave (n = 26)	Total (n = 90)	p-value
Did a healthcare professional from the hospital ask you in the weeks/months after your loved one died how you were doing? Yes	7 (35.0%)	23 (60.5%)	6 (25.0%)	36 (43.9%)	0.014
Did you have an appointment with an ICU physician after the death of your loved one?^e
Yes	5 (23.8%)	14 (35.9%)	3 (12.5%)	22 (26.2%)	0.128
No, namely.^a	16 (76.2%)	25 (64.1%)	21 (87.5%)	62 (73.8%)
	*n = 16*	*n = 25*	*n = 21*	*n = 62*
… due to COVID-19 restrictions^b	NA	5 (20.0%)	0	5 (10.9%)	0.054^c
… no need	5 (31.3%)	6 (24.0%)	5 (23.8%)	16 (25.8%)	0.871
… did not know about option	5 (31.3%)	12 (48.0%)	10 (47.6%)	27 (43.5%)	0.555
… possible relive of negative experiences	0	2 (8.0%)	2 (9.5%)	4 (6.5%)	0.669^c
… other reason^d	6 (37.5%)	5 (20.0%)	7 (33.3%)	18 (29.0%)	0.406

^aThe percentages for the different reasons why relatives had not had an appointment with an ICU physician is calculated as a proportion of the people who did not have an appointment (resp. 16, 25, 21 and 62 relatives)
^bOnly asked to relatives from the first and second COVID-19 wave
^cFisher’s exact test instead of a chi-squared test, because > 20% of the cells had an expected count of less than 5
^dExamples of other reasons mentioned: relative felt that the ICU was too far away; according to the relative it makes no sense because you do not get your loved one back through the appointment; relative does not want to bother the ICU physician
^eMultiple answers possible

ISSN: 1472-684X