Effects of a Video and Audio Support Tool on Family Members' Preferences and Understanding Regarding Life-Sustaining Treatments: Before-and-After Study.

Abstract

Audio- and video-based educational tools may improve family members' knowledge of and preferences for end-of-life care in intensive care units. To determine and compare the effects of video and audio educational materials on knowledge of and preferences for life-sustaining treatment (LST) among family members of ICU patients in South Korea. Pre-post study design. Family members of ICU patients aged >18 years received audio or video educational materials. Preferences for LSTs, knowledge regarding LSTs. A total of 168 were enrolled and randomly divided equally into the verbal (<i>n</i> = 84) and video (<i>n</i> = 84) interventions. Preferences for most LSTs remained unchanged after the intervention, except for tracheostomy (10.7% (18/168) changed from "no" to "yes" versus 3.6% (6/168) from "yes" to "no"; <i>p</i> = 0.023). No significant changes in treatment preferences were observed when analyzing the video and audio groups separately. Knowledge scores significantly improved after the intervention for all participants (7.44 ± 1.57 to 8.49 ± 1.79, <i>p</i> < 0.005), with the video (7.48 ± 1.56 to 8.64 ± 1.52) and audio groups (7.40 ± 1.58 to 8.34 ± 2.03) showing similar improvements (<i>p</i> < 0.005). Preferences for most LSTs remained unchanged, likely due to high baseline knowledge, whereas knowledge improved significantly regardless of education type. Notably, a significant shift in preference was observed for tracheostomy, where baseline knowledge was lower, suggesting an educational effect.