Original Articles
Vol. 42 No. 4 (2025)
https://doi.org/10.4081/scenario.2025.640

HumanITA-ICUs: humanizing Italian intensive care units. A survey study protocol

Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Received: 22 April 2025
Accepted: 21 July 2025
Published: 18 November 2025
105
Views
52
Downloads
Humanization, intensive care unit, critical care nursing, quality of care, post-intensive care syndrome

Authors

Floriana Pinto
floriana.pinto89@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9904-9194
Department of Healthcare Professions, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy; ANIARTI - National Association of Critical Care Nurses, Genoa, Italy.
Emanuele Buccione
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4146-8948
ANIARTI - National Association of Critical Care Nurses, Genoa, Italy; Adult and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Local Health Authority 3 Pescara, Italy.
Giuseppe Tinessa
Intensive Care Unit, Moncucco Hospital Group, Lugano, Italy.
Michele Stellabotte
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3997-6193
Paediatric Operating Theatre Suite, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milan, Italy.
Jos M. Latour
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8087-6461
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, United Kingdom; Curtin School of Nursing, Curtin University, Perth, Australia; Department of Nursing, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Francesco Limonti
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4781-7715
ANIARTI - National Association of Critical Care Nurses, Genoa, Italy; Operating Room Department, Ferrara University Hospital, Ferrara, Italy.

Introduction: in recent years, humanizing care in Intensive Care Units (ICSs) has become a focal point of research worldwide. Key determinants for improving ICU experiences include patient-centred factors (sleep, pain, PTSD prevention), family involvement (visitation policies, communication), and healthcare professional well-being (training, emotional support). This study aims to study the organizational and behavioral characteristics related to humanization and comfort in Italian ICUs.

Materials and Methods: a national cross-sectional survey, based on a specific framework, will be conducted from December 2024 to June 2025, involving ICUs’ head nurses across Italy.

Results: the study will provide a detailed overview of organizational and behavioral practices in Italian ICUs, identifying regional and structural variations, highlighting limitations, and outlining future projects to improve clinical, behavioral, and organizational practices.

Conclusions: the national analysis of organizational and behavioral aspects related to humanization in Italian ICUs will focus on the experiences of patients, families, and healthcare professionals. These findings will help to identify best practices and areas requiring improvement, supporting training and organizational interventions to foster a new approach to intensive care.

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
1. Kvande ME, Angel S, Højager Nielsen A. Humanizing intensive care: A scoping review (HumanIC). Nurs Ethics 2022;29:498–510.
2. Velasco Bueno JM, La Calle GH. Humanizing Intensive Care. Crit Care Nurs Clin North America 2020;32:135–47.
3. Latour JM, Coombs M. Family-centred care in the intensive care unit: More than just flexible visiting hours. Intensive Crit Care Nurs 2019;50:1–2.
4. Danielis M, Movio F, Milanese G, Mattiussi E. Patients’ reports on their delusional memories from the intensive care unit: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Intensive Crit Care Nurs 2024;81:103617.
5. Gravante F, Trotta F, Latina S, et al. Quality of life in ICU survivors and their relatives with post‐intensive care syndrome: A systematic review. Nurs Crit Care 2024;29:807–23.
6. Busch IM, Moretti F, Travaini G, et al. Humanization of care: key elements identified by patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. A systematic review. Patient 2019;12:461–74.
7. Mistraletti G, Umbrello M, Mantovani ES, et al. A family information brochure and dedicated website to improve the ICU experience for patients’ relatives: an Italian multicenter before-and-after study. Intensive Care Med 2017;43:69–79.
8. Gravante F, Giannarelli D, Pucci A, et al. Prevalence and risk factors of delirium in the intensive care unit: An observational study. Nurs Critical Care 2021;26:156–65.
9. Rivi V, Melegari G, Blom JMC. How to humanise the COVID-19 intensive care units. BMJ EBM 2021;26:141–2.
10. Imbriaco G, Monesi A. Names and numbers: How COVID-19 impacted on de-humanization of ICU patients. J Intensive Care Soc 2023;24:13–4.
11. Putowski Z, Rachfalska N, Majewska K, et al. Identification of risk factors for post-intensive care syndrome in family members (PICS-F) among adult patients: a systematic review. Anaesthesiol Intensive Ther 2023;55:168–78.
12. Jacques T, Ramnani A, Deshpande K, Kalfon P. Perceived Discomfort in Patients admitted to Intensive Care (DETECT DISCOMFORT 1): a prospective observational study. Crit Care Resusc 2019;21:103–9.
13. Latour JM, Kentish-Barnes N, Jacques T, et al. Improving the intensive care experience from the perspectives of different stakeholders. Crit Care 2022;26:218.
14. Mehta S, Yarnell C, Shah S, et al. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intensive care unit workers: a nationwide survey. Can J Anaesth 2022;69:472-84.
15. Carpenter S. Ten Steps in Scale Development and Reporting: A Guide for Researchers. Comm Methods Measures 2018;12:25–44.
16. the IPREA Study group, Baumstarck K, Boucekine M, et al. Assessment of patients’ self-perceived intensive care unit discomforts: Validation of the 18-item version of the IPREA. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2019;17:1186.
17. Sharma A, Minh Duc NT, Luu Lam Thang T, et al. A Consensus-Based Checklist for Reporting of Survey Studies (CROSS). J Gen Intern Med 2021;36:3179-3187.
18. Latour JM, Tume LN. How to do and report survey studies robustly: A helpful mnemonic SURVEY. Nurs Critical Care 2021;26:313–4.

How to Cite



HumanITA-ICUs: humanizing Italian intensive care units. A survey study protocol. (2025). Scenario® - Il Nursing Nella Sopravvivenza, 42(4). https://doi.org/10.4081/scenario.2025.640
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.