The ICU community values shared decision-making between patients, families, and the health care team.
The adult study is approved by the Alfred Hospital Ethics Committee (reference number: 81896) and the New Zealand Health and Disability Ethics Committees (reference number: 2023 FULL 13261)
The paediatric study is approved by the Children’s Health Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee (reference number: 99529)
If you have any questions or concerns about any aspect of this project, the way it is being conducted, or have enquiries about being a research participant in general, then you may contact:
Australia Reviewing HREC Office/Complaints contact person for Adult PROEMs
Position: Complaints Officer, Office of Ethics & Research Governance, Alfred Health
Telephone: (03) 9076 3619
Email: research@alfred.org.au Please quote the following project ID number: 81896
Australia Reviewing HREC Office/Complaints contact person for Paediatric PROEMs
Position: Children’s Health Queensland HHS, HREC Co-ordinator Telephone: (07) 3069 7002
Email: CHQEthics@health.qld.gov.au Please quote the following project ID number: 99529
New Zealand Reviewing HREC Office/Complaints contact person Position: New Zealand Health and Disability Ethics Committee Telephone: 0800 4 38442 (0800 4 Ethic) Email: HDECS@health.govt.nz
The survey is sent in a secure link via a text message to your mobile phone or via email after ICU discharge.
No. It is not possible to complete the survey on paper.
No. Survey participation is voluntary. If you do not wish to take part, you do not have to. If you do not participate, it will not affect you or your child’s future medical care and we won’t contact you again.
You can opt out from participating in the survey in the following ways:
Telling the ICU staff that you do not wish to participate. Your contact information will not be used to send the survey link.
If you have received the survey invitation by SMS/email, you can decline to participate by clicking on the decline button in the survey link, or
If you believe a survey has been sent to you in error, please accept our sincere apologies and decline from participating by clicking on the decline button in the survey link sent to your mobile phone or email.
Once you have opted out from the survey, you will not receive any further communication.
The survey responses will be de-identified and analysed by ANZICS on behalf of all ICUs and produce reports for clinicians, consumers, and the wider community to monitor, benchmark and inform improvements in care.
You can withdraw from the survey by informing the staff from the ICU where you or your child were admitted. You do not need to provide a reason for your wish to withdraw from the survey.
If you do not wish your family members/carers to participate in the survey, you can inform the ICU staff and your family members/carers will not receive any communication regarding the survey.
Yes. Your personal and contact information is securely stored within the hospital’s ICU database and not disclosed to ANZICS or any other third party. Your personal and contact information will be used only for the purpose of sending out survey invitation. Your survey responses are anonymous. Survey responses will be stored indefinitely and securely on the ANZICS database.
Patient and carer feedback will help inform and shape the care provided in the ICU.
Understanding how our treatments affect ICU patients’ quality of life, physical function and wellbeing will help us improve long-term outcomes of future intensive care patients.
ANZICS supports the My Life After ICU website which provides useful resources for ICU patients and family members/carers to help with recovery from critical illness. Your feedback will help to keep us informed about what you need beyond your hospital stay.
Participation in the survey will require you to think back to your or your family member/friends/child’s stay in ICU and some memories may be distressing. If this occurs, we encourage you to seek support.
If you have a medical issue or need support, we encourage you to talk to friends and family or make an appointment with your GP or a mental health professional.
Contact your ICU. Please click here to access contacts of participating ICUs in this study.
In New Zealand, call 0800 543 354 or send a text to 4357
Yes. When a patient’s nominated contact completes a survey on a patient’s behalf, this is known as a ‘proxy’. For children admitted to ICU, parents or carers complete the surveys as the proxy for the child. For adult patients, there are 2 ways a proxy may complete survey responses.
Option 1: The nominated contact/parent/carer reads the survey questions to the patient and enters the responses selected by the patient directly onto the survey.
Option 2: The nominated contact/parent/carer completes the survey on behalf of the patient selecting the responses they believe the patient would select if they were able to complete the survey by themself. This option should only be selected for patients who do not have the ability to provide survey responses.
Medications given to patients to provide comfort in the ICU may affect memory. Other factors such as illness, infection, fasting or lack of sleep may also cause patients to experience problems with thinking clearly or maintaining focus. During recovery from critical illness these things usually subside, however sometimes patients may have little recall of their time spent in the ICU.
For this reason, we ask for your nominated contact person to assist with providing feedback on the experience of your time spent in the ICU. If a survey question cannot to be answered because you cannot remember, please select the N/A (not applicable) response option.
No. Your Experience Survey responses should include feedback on the care received whilst in the ICU only. Please do not include thoughts on the care received from other areas of the hospital.
No. Your answers to the Experience and Outcome Surveys are anonymous and cannot formally escalate specific concerns about the care you received whilst in the ICU. If you have a concern, we encourage you to contact the ICU directly (To contact participating ICUs click here). Alternatively, there may be a Patient Liaison Representative available through the hospital switchboard.
Please seek medical advice promptly if you have any immediate health concerns.
If you have any questions or concerns about this survey, please contact ANZICS PROEMs Officer at icusurvey@anzics.com.au.
The ANZICS-PROEMs contact email is to help answer your queries on the PROM and PREM surveys. ANZICS does not offer crisis support, counselling, or health advice. If you have a medical issue or wish to discuss something about your medical care, please contact your GP or local healthcare provider.
