Improving Outcomes for Mechanically Ventilated Patients With the Digital EZ Board
Phase: NA
Conditions: Nonverbal Communication, Critical Illness
Sponsor: Ohio State University

 
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Title:  VIDATALK COMMUNICATION APPLICATION: USABILITY, ACCEPTABILITY AND EFFICACY 
STUDY 
(Phase II STTR) 
 
 
Principal Investigator: Mary Beth Happ, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA 
Professor, The Ohio State University College of Nursing 
 
Significance: Communication-vulnerable patients, such as those with limited English proficiency (LEP), or 
those who are hearing-impaired, aphasic, or intubated for mechanical ventilation (MV), can experience extreme 
frustration, panic, anxiety, sleeplessness, fear, frustration, isolation and insecurity when ineffectively attempting to 
communicate.1-6 Despite multiple studies validating the Vidatak EZ BoardTM (a disposable, prefabricated 
communication board) as the preferred intervention by patients and nurses and capable of reducing frustration 
with communication,7,8 the EZ Board has many shortcomings, which likely negatively impacts its lack of 
standardization in practice. Without effective communication, MV patients’ needs often go unrecognized and 
unfulfilled which may prolong mechanical ventilation as well as length of ICU and hospital stay, resulting in an 
increased incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia, days in delirium, and healthcare costs. 
Vidatak is a small business entity (our collaborating business partners) developing VidaTalk, a patient-
centric, evidence-based touch pad software solution that will provide MV patients and those with LEP an 
evidence-based solution for effectively communicating their needs to care providers and family. A previous 
Phase I small business technology transfer research (STTR), funded through National Institute of Nursing 
Research and conducted at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC), was successful in defining 
basic user requirements and product specifications and developing a prototype of VidaTalk. The Phase I study 
confirmed the feasibility of a digital communication tool as a solution for selected MV patients to communicate 
their needs.  The proposed, Phase II STTR program, also funded by NIH, will build on the knowledge gained in 
this study to test a commercial android version of VidaTalk with MV patients and determine its efficacy in 
improving patient outcomes. 
 
SPECIFIC AIMS 
Specific Aim 1. Develop a commercial prototype of VidaTalk that will include multilingual and customizable 
communication, picture symbols, and integration with mobile communication devices. Criteria for acceptance: 
Design output requirements meet input requirements determined by defined user specifications for multilingual 
and customizable communication, picture symbols, and integration with other communication systems.   
Specific Aim 2. Demonstrate usability with iterative user assessment testing in a clinical setting. Criteria for 
acceptance:  MV patients will provide feedback on acceptability, will perform test messages with minimal 
errors, and will rate VidaTalk an overall average score of 4.5 or higher (Likert-type scale; 1 to 7) on usability 
questions. 
Specific Aim 3. Test the clinical efficacy of VidaTalk with MV patients by examining qualitative and 
quantitative endpoints in a clinical setting. We will employ a randomized clinical trial with attention control. 
Criteria for acceptance: MV patients using VidaTalk will demonstrate notable reductions in sedation exposure, 
delirium/coma-free days, time to successful liberation from MV, and patient-reported frustration, 
communication difficulty, and satisfaction with ICU care compared to patients receiving the standard of care at 
OSUWMC. 
Specific Aim 4: Establish criterion validity of the electronic VAS-a for use among mechanically ventilated 
patients in the ICU who are participating in Aim 3 of this study.  Hypothesis: The electronic version of the VAS-
A tool will demonstrate a high correlation with the validated paper version. 
Specific Aim 5.a. Test the preliminary efficacy of VidaTalk compared to attention control (AC) on anxiety and 
depression symptoms in family caregivers during the ICU stay and post-discharge (1-mos; 3-mos; 6-mos) and 
PTSD-related symptoms post-discharge. 

 
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Specific Aim 5.b. Examine the role of the family caregivers’ perceived communication difficulty in moderating 
the effects of VidaTalk on the caregiver’s psychological symptoms.  
Specific Aim 5.c. Explore the family caregiver’s perceptions of communication with, or without, VidaTalk and 
their emotional experience in communicating with a patient family member during critical illness and MV 
treatment.   
 
BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE 
For more than twenty years, communication boards have been used to assist patients with communicating 
their needs when they cannot speak or write. Previous experimental research demonstrated that post-
operative cardiac surgical patients who received communication boards reported significantly higher 
satisfaction than those who received usual care.9 As an extension of this work, Patak et al. developed the first 
evidence-based communication board, the Vidatak EZ BoardTM, designed with the assistance of patients who 
had recently (<24hr) been mechanically ventilated (MV).10 Despite these advances, as well as multiple studies 
validating the EZ Board as the preferred intervention by patients and nurses, the EZ Board still has many 
shortcomings, which likely negatively impacts its standardization in practice.7,8,10 Limitations include: 1) it is 
prefabricated and cannot be personalized, and 2) the EZ board is visually complex and some patients 
require more focused, single page options. 
Communication disability is a significant factor contributing to adverse patient outcomes such as physical 
restraint, misinterpretation of pain/symptoms, and medication and treatment errors during acute care 
hospitalization.11-13 More than 2.7 million intensive care unit (ICU) patients in the USA each year are unable to 
speak, in large part, because of the presence of artificial airways and mechanical ventilation.14,15 Treatment-
induced communication impairment is one of the most common and distressful symptoms to MV patients in 
ICU1,2,5,6,16-19 and is associated with anxiety, panic, anger, frustration, sleeplessness, and distress.1-5,16-18,20-30  
Few solutions have been offered or systematically tested with intubated ICU patients.9,31,32 Furthermore, the 
technologies and resources that are currently available for critically ill patients to communicate have 
many shortcomings which impact effectiveness in communications and outcomes for these patients 
and contribute to the lack of standardization for the provision of communication resources to patients 
who cannot communicate in clinical practice. The Joint Commission has identified the significance of this 
problem with new accreditation standards and new Elements of Performance, requiring assessment of 
communication needs for all hospitalized patients and provision of appropriate augmentative and alternative 
communication (AAC) tools and services.33 Despite this, there remains no Standard of Care for the required 
provision of patient communication assistance in ICU. 
Barriers to widespread use of AAC tools and electronic communication devices in the ICU include patients’ 
physical and cognitive fluctuation or deterioration, poor positioning, use of physical restraints, discontinuity in 
communication partner(s), and staff lack of knowledge or access to AAC tools.34-42 Patients vary substantially 
in their cognitive ability and physical dexterity during critical illness, a circumstance which likely influences their 
ability to successfully use available AAC strategies.43-45 In summary, technology has yet to provide MV 
patients with an effective means to communicate which is due in part to the complexity of critically ill 
patients’ user requirements that have yet to be identified. 
Dr. Patak et al.18 first identified just over one hundred words and phrases patients wanted to communicate 
when intubated in the ICU and then organized them on a disposable dry-erase patient communication board. 
The EZ Board has been shown to improve communication between nurses and impaired patients.10,18 
However, many patients with LEP are still underserved because hospitals limit the number of non-English 
versions of the EZ Board they keep on-hand. A digital communication device could provide an unlimited 
number of translations in one product as well as expand on the communication tools made available to 
patients.  
Dr. Happ’s (PI) study of electronic communication devices in the ICU showed that MV patients initiated 
communication more often when using electronic devices and patient ease of communication ratings improved; 
however, observed patient use of the devices was sparse and inconsistent.37 This study established the team’s 
expertise in testing and observation of electronic AAC device use and confirmed feasibility in ICU. Dr. Happ led 
the Study of Patient-nurse Effectiveness with Assisted Communication Strategies (SPEACS) to test the impact 

 
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of two levels of training and AAC support interventions on communication between nurses and nonvocal ICU 
patients. Intervention groups demonstrated a greater percentage of successful communication exchanges 
about pain (F=3.99, p=0.03) than the control group. Patients who received electronic devices and speech 
language consultation used significantly more AAC methods (F=6.14, p=0.002) and reported high 
communication difficulty less often (F=8.95, p<0.001). Patient delirium negatively impacted communication 
outcomes.46, 62 Communication boards (including the Vidatak EZ Board) and electronic devices were among 
the AAC tools most frequently (18/53) used in patient-family member communication.47 Case exemplars 
showed that communication boards and electronic devices enhanced patient autonomy and accurate 
information transfer, particularly in regard to medical needs.48 The SPEACS study and the translational follow-
up SPEACS-2 study49 provided a variety of communication boards in single formats (alphabet/pictures) and in 
combination format (e.g., EZ Board); however, nurses had to select one or juggle several tools at the bedside. 
VidaTalk offers the capacity for several communication board options in a single tool.  
Initial, Phase I development and testing of VidaTalk conducted at OSUWMC demonstrated high ease of use 
and satisfaction ratings among newly extubated and intubated mechanically ventilated patients who were 
awake, alert, and cognitively intact (non-delirious) and had good upper motor and fair fine motor control. 
Participants requested picture symbols for common messages and customizability of communication pages. 
Additionally, we identified a need for android compatibility particularly in the OSUWMC where android tablet 
computers are made available at patient bedsides for use of the Epic MyChartBedside application. 
Little is known about patient-family communication during mechanical ventilation in the ICU. Family caregivers 
of critically ill patients report difficulty and frustration with patient communication and are eager to use 
augmentative and alternative communication tools to communicate with their ill family members.47 Family 
caregivers of critically ill patients demonstrate high rates of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress 
symptoms during and after the patient’s hospitalization.50,51 Completion of Aim 5 will provide basic knowledge 
of the potential efficacy of VidaTalk as an intervention to prevent or alleviate adverse psychological outcomes 
such as anxiety, depressive symptoms, and PTSD-related symptoms in family caregivers during and following 
the ICU admission. In addition, this study will contribute important knowledge about the moderating effect of 
communication difficulty between MV patients and their family members on adverse psychological outcomes 
such as anxiety, depressive symptoms, and PTSD-related symptoms in family caregivers. 
METHODS AND APPROACH 
Phase II Approach 
This iterative research process presents a deliberative, systematic and comprehensive approach to device 
design and usability testing and will provide the necessary product validity in order to determine the impact 
VidaTalk has on MV patient outcomes. Table 1 presents research aims, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and 
tools/measures for data collection. 
 
Table 1. Summary of Phase II research activities, and inclusions and exclusion criteria 
Aim/Activities 
Inclusion criteria 
Exclusion criteria 
Measures 
Aim 1. Two group 
iterative design. 
Conduct staged testing 
with 7 ICU surviving 
patients, who have 
experienced intubation, 
in each group (n=14)  
 
 
 
Nurse focus group 
interviews. 
(n= 5 nurses). 
1) ≥18 yr, 
2) able to communicate in 
English, 
3) awake alert, responding 
appropriately to commands,  
4) normal (aided or unaided) 
hearing and vision,   
5) able to control head, arm and 
hand movements 
6) physiologically stable and in no 
acute distress (per nurse report) 
 
1) Nurse employed in the study 
site unit  
2) Critical care nursing 
experience > 1 year. 
) C
1) pre-existing 
communication impairments 
2) diagnosis of severe 
dementia or severe brain 
injury 
3) Confusion Assessment 
Method (CAM-ICU)73 
positive for delirium 
4) unresponsiveness or 
inattention 
 
 
Pre-existing speech or 
hearing impairment that 
limits functional 
communication 
• 
Demographics 
• 
APACHE III 
• 
Intubation history  
• 
ASQ 
• 
Qualitative feedback 
• 
Observation 
• 
Task time 
• 
Task success 
• 
Error number and type 
 
• 
Demographics 
• 
Focus Group 
Interview 

 
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Aim 2. One group 
non-iterative design. 
Conduct in situ testing 
for usability and 
feasibility with 
intubated MV patients. 
(n=10) 
 
 
Aim3. Test the 
clinical efficacy of 
VidaTalk using two 
group RCT, 
experimental/ (n=35) 
and attention control 
(n=35) 
 
Aim 4:  Criterion   
Validity of electronic 
VAS-A tool  
 
 
Aim 5.a. Test the 
efficacy of VidaTalk on 
family caregivers 
 
Aim 5.b. Test the 
mediating effect of 
communication 
difficulty perceived by 
family caregivers 
 
Aim 5.c. Semi-
structured interviews 
with subsets of family 
caregivers 
 
 
Nurse focus group 
interviews. 
(n= 10 nurses). 
Same as Aim 1 Patient group 
except intubated via oral 
endotracheal or tracheal tube 
without speaking valve, receiving 
mechanical ventilation. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Same as Aim 2 above except 
Intubated via oral endotracheal  
or tracheal tube without speaking 
valve as primary communication 
tool; receiving MV within 48 hrs of 
enrollment.* 
 
Same as Aim 3 
 
 
 
 
 
1) 
Family caregivers of the 
enrolled patient participants 
in the parent study as 
identified by the patient or 
self 
2) 
>/=18 years old  
3) 
Able to read and speak 
English  
4) 
Non-professional, unpaid 
caregiver 
5) 
Plans to visit at least 3 days/ 
week during ICU stay 
6) 
Reliable telephone access 
(for follow-up assessment) 
 
 
 
 
 
1) Nurse employed in the study 
site unit 
2) Critical care nursing 
experience > 1 year. 
3)Communicates in English 
1) same as Aim 1 Patient 
groups 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Same as Aim 2.  
 
 
 
 
 
Same as Aim 3 
 
 
 
 
 
1) Age under 18 years  
2) Unable to read and speak 
English  
3) Severe uncorrected 
hearing loss  
4) Self-reported diagnosis of 
dementia or Alzheimer’s 
5) Self-reported psychiatric 
disorder (bipolar disorder, 
schizophrenia) or substance 
abuse requiring inpatient 
treatment within the last 12 
months 
6) Unreliable telephone 
access 
 
 
 
 
Same as Aim 1.             
• 
Demographics 
• 
APACHE III 
• 
Intubation history 
• 
ASQ 
• 
Qualitative feedback 
• 
Observation 
• 
Task time 
• 
Task success 
• 
Error number and type  
• 
Difficulty 
• 
Frustration 
 
See Table 3. 
 
 
 
 
• 
Anxiety score (mm) 
• 
Patient preference: paper or 
electronic version 
 
 
 
 
Family Characteristics 
• 
Demographics  
• 
ICU experience 
• 
Psychological support 
 
Family Outcomes 
• 
Anxiety (HADS) 
• 
Depression (HADS) 
• 
PTSD-related Symptoms 
• 
Communication Difficulty 
 
 
 
 
 
• 
Demographics 
• 
Focus Group or individual 
Interview 
 
Legend: ASQ= After Scenario Questionnaire;52 SUS=System Usability Scale;53 APACHEIII= Acute physiology age and chronic health 
evaluation.54   
*allows for enrollment of long-term tracheostomy patient after weaning from MV. 
 
Specific Aim 1. Develop a commercial prototype of VidaTalk that will include multilingual and customizable 
communication, picture symbols, and integration with mobile communication devices. Criteria for acceptance: 
Design output requirements meet input requirements determined by defined user specifications for multilingual 
and customizable communication, picture symbols, and integration with other communication systems.   
Rationale: For VidaTalk to be effective for patient communication, the user requirements for customizable 
communication, picture symbols, and integration with mobile communication devices of MV critically ill patients 
need to be identified and defined by the end users, programmed and then tested for acceptability in an iterative 
fashion. 
Experimental design/methods: A mixed methods iterative design is planned for Aim 1. Two groups (Group 1 
and Group 2) of five previously MV patients will be recruited from the Intensive Care Units at the OSUWMC, 

 
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including The OSU Ross Heart Hospital and the James Cancer Hospital ICUs and including patients 
transferred or discharged from those ICUs. Our sample size is based on prior research suggesting that testing 
technologies with at least 5-8 users will expose the majority of usability problems, using >50% of users 
reporting a problem as a threshold for modification.55,56 To account for potential attrition, we will recruit up to 21 
subjects.  Potential participants will be identified by the critical care clinical research coordinators in 
collaboration with the unit charge nurse or clinical nurse specialist. The clinical research coordinator will then 
review the medical record to ensure that all eligibility criteria are met.  Following this confirmation, the research 
coordinator will ask the bedside RN to introduce the coordinator to the potential subject. Participation will be 
voluntary and confidential. After informed consent and confirmation of eligibility, each participant will be 
assigned a unique study ID.  
 
Group 1 will be approached using an initial prototype of VidaTalk android version to be assessed for 
functionality (ergonomics, ease of use, ease of learning, simplicity, effectiveness and user interface) and 
usability on customizable communication, picture symbols, and integration with mobile communication devices. 
After completing the demographic questionnaire, the patient will be reclining in bed with head of the bed 
elevated or seated in bedside chair. Data collection will be conducted by two trained data collectors according 
to Table 2 and is expected to take 40-60 minutes. 
      
One of the data collectors will conduct the test while the other records structured field notes. Both data 
collectors will review the data before finalizing. Each session will be audio-recorded via screen capture 
software to obtain usage record, user comments, compute task completion time and for fidelity monitoring. 
Patients will be asked to think aloud as they complete the task57,58 to optimize user recall of their experience 
and to obtain a more direct understanding of what features are most acceptable or cause the most problems.59 
Observations made during the sessions will be reviewed and Usability Testing Reports generated60 to 
document problems. Prior to engaging Group 2 for Aim 1, the company will perform iterative design 
assessments and engineer an improved alpha prototype, which will be transferred to OSU for assessments 
with the second group of seven patients. 
      
 
Table 2. Group 1 and 2 Sequence of Data Collection 
(1) Ask the patient to hold the device and touch the screen to activate a series of messages on pain, symptoms and other topics 
using the Picture version VidaTalk application: 
    (a) Tell me you are tired. 
    (b) Tell me you are having pain.  
    (c) Rate this pain. 
    (d) Tell me there is pain in your back. 
    (e) Tell me your pain is sharp. 
    (f) Ask to see the doctor.     
    (g)Write your favorite color by drawing with your finger. 
    (h) Type “How are you?” 
(2) Observation of task completion: Time completion of each task, count errors, note type of errors, time from error to completion.  
(3) Patients complete a 1-item difficulty rating after each task and a 3-item After-Scenario Questionnaire (ASQ)74 at the end of 
testing. 
(4) Ask patients to (a) comment on the customization of the app and make suggestions for improvements; (b) rate the extent to 
which they would use the device if they were an ICU patient and unable to speak (acceptability);  
(5) Having become familiar with how the app works and the content that is already available, would you want to be able to 
modify the app, change the words, add some or remove some?  Y    N 
 
(6) Qualitative open-ended question: If yes, describe some of the way you would like to customize the app.  
If no, why would you not want to customize the app? 

 
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(7) If yes, tell me more about customizing the app. What would you want added to this tab and how would you like to be able 
to customize it?  Repeat for each tab.  
(8) Do you like the idea of adding your own pictures to represent the 
words?  Y     N      Explain.  _____________________________________ 
(9) Would you prefer your family member or your nurse make these customized changes for you or would you prefer to do 
it?  ________________________________  
 
Phase II - Data analysis & interpretation: Qualitative data will be analyzed using a basic qualitative 
descriptive approach. Qualitative data (audio recorded patient interview questions, nurse focus group 
interview, and observational field notes) will be transcribed verbatim, checked for accuracy, imported into Atlas. 
TI for data management, and analyzed using qualitative manifest content analysis.61 In this approach portions 
of text are labeled or coded with terms that are low inference and descriptive of the user opinions and testing 
observations. The participants’ unique study identifiers will be attached to each transcript and all documents 
will be kept in a locked file cabinet and a password-protected electronic file copy. Codes will be identified and 
defined in an iterative process by investigators (Happ, research assistant) independently coding the data and 
arriving at agreement in discussion/review. Codes are sorted and categorized into themes, which will be 
discussed in research meetings. Drs. Happ, Patak, and Traughber will examine qualitative findings and testing 
reports to determine the severity and the frequency of problems reported. A threshold of 50% of patients 
reporting the same problems will necessitate a revision of that feature, however each finding or problem report 
will be evaluated for potential feature revision. 
Quantitative data, collected via questionnaires or field observation, will be descriptively analyzed using 
SAS (version 9.1.3, SAS Institute, Inc., Cary NC). Data will be screened for data anomalies prior to the main 
data analyses to address research aims. Consistent with the intent of this multi-phase, pilot feasibility study, no 
formal testing of hypotheses will be conducted. Given the small sizes for each sample (ranging from 5 to 10), 
descriptive analysis of quantitative data (e.g., task completion time, success rate, ASQ) will include frequency 
distributions and measures of central tendency and dispersion as is appropriate. For descriptive summary 
statistics (e.g., mean, median), both the point and interval estimates (95% confidence interval) will be 
computed. For multi-item scales (e.g., ASQ), descriptive statistics will be computed for both the scale/subscale 
scores and for individual items. Additionally, for longitudinally assessed responses for functionality and 
usability (e.g., ASQ, time to task completion, task success), individual response profile plots will be produced to 
explore within-subject changes. As this is a developmental project, interim analyses may be conducted before 
a sample is fully enrolled to inform the refinement of a VidaTalk application feature. Reasons for non-eligibility, 
non-participation, and attrition will also be documented and summarized.  
Potential pitfalls/alternative approaches: If a patient participant becomes fatigued (secondary to his/her 
medical condition) during data collection, breaks or rest will be provided and the research team will ask for 
permission to return later in the day to complete the assessment. 
Expected outcomes: The outcome of this research will provide both the use content and the product 
specifications to complete development for the VidaTalk application that will successfully meet the end user 
needs of MV patients and deliver a beta prototype of the final product. 
Phase II - Specific Aim 2. Demonstrate usability with iterative user assessment testing in a clinical setting. 
Criteria for acceptance:  MV patients will provide feedback on acceptability, will perform test messages with 
minimal errors, and will rate VidaTalk an overall average score of 4.5 or higher (Likert-type scale; 1 to 7) on 
usability questions. 
Rationale: Based on findings on human factor requirements and end user needs from Aim 1, the beta design 
of VidaTalk will be developed for testing in situ with intubated, MV patients in ICU. 
Procedures: Prior to implementing procedures for Aim 2, the company will have performed further iterative 
design assessments and engineered an android prototype which will be used with a final group of ten (10) 
intubated patients receiving MV support to field-test the prototype for functionality (human-device interaction 
factors, feasibility, and usability) and acceptability. Purposive sampling will be used to recruit a diverse sample 
(age, gender, race/ethnicity, naïve and experienced touchpad users). Potentially eligible participants (awake, 
alert/responsive, and intubated ICU patients) will be identified by the critical care clinical research coordinators 
in collaboration with the critical care nurses, attending physicians, fellows, or clinical nurse specialist. The 
clinical research coordinator will review the medical record and place records of all awake, alert/responsive, 
intubated patients into the IHIS In-Basket for trained research staff to review and to ensure that all eligibility 

 
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criteria are met.  Following this confirmation of eligibility, the research staff will ask the bedside RN for 
introduction to the potential subject. Privacy protections will be observed as in Aim 1. Data will be collected by 
a trained data collector as in Aim 1 (See Table 2) steps 3-6 with the addition of Ease of Communication and 
Frustration ratings before and after the testing sequence. To reduce burden, patients in this group will 
complete the 3-item ASQ52 one time after all tasks are completed. They will also complete a 13-item System 
Usability Scale (SUS).53  
 
Five critical care nurses will be recruited from the study units for variation in age, experience, gender and 
race/ethnicity to participate in a focus group. The focus group will be conducted in a hospital conference room 
led by Dr. Happ, an experienced qualitative researcher, using a semi-structured guide based on the guide used 
in Phase 1. Nurses will review the VidaTalk tablet device applications providing feedback on functionality and 
acceptability, with particular emphasis on the new features and their willingness to facilitate and engage in 
patient communication with this device. We will also assess the logistical aspects of providing the tablet device 
technology in the clinical setting. 
 
Data analysis & interpretation: Both qualitative and quantitative data will be analyzed as stated above.  
Potential pitfalls/alternative approaches: If a patient participant becomes fatigued (secondary to his/her 
medical condition) during data collection, breaks or rest will be provided and the research team will ask for 
permission to return later in the day to complete the assessment. 
Expected outcomes: The outcome of this research will provide functionality, usability, and acceptability data 
necessary to refine the product to a commercial version of VidaTalk for efficacy and comparison testing to 
other communication modalities and the standard of care (Aim 3). 
 
Phase II - Specific Aim 3. Test the clinical efficacy of VidaTalk with MV patients by examining qualitative and 
quantitative endpoints in a clinical setting. We will employ a randomized clinical trial with attention control. 
Criteria for acceptance: MV patients using VidaTalk will demonstrate notable reductions in sedation exposure, 
delirium/coma-free days, time to successful liberation from MV, and patient-reported frustration, 
communication difficulty, and satisfaction with ICU care compared to patients receiving the standard of care at 
The Ohio State University Hospital. 
Rationale: In order to become a standard of care, evidence-based communication devices must demonstrate 
improve qualitative and quantitative outcomes in mechanically ventilated patients.   
Procedures: Prior to implementing Aim 3, the company will have completed product development of the 
commercial release candidate of VidaTalk. The commercial release candidate will be tested with a sample of 
70 intubated patients receiving MV to field-test VidaTalk for efficacy in improving patient outcomes.  Patient 
inclusion/exclusion criteria are the same as for Aim 2 (See Table 2). However, we have clarified that patients 
with tracheostomies and speaking valves will be included as long as the valves are not the primary method of 
communication and patients weaning from mechanical ventilation (within 48 hours) who are still intubated and 
unable to vocalize will be eligible for inclusion. Thirty-five (35) patients will be randomized to the intervention 
arm and will be provided an android tablet with the VidaTalk application as their primary communication 
resource. The other 35 patients will be considered the attention-control arm and will receive an android tablet 
configured according to the standard OSUMC MyChartBedside display and the standard of care for 
communication, which includes primarily writing tools (paper and pen) and, occasionally, picture or alphabet 
communication charts. EZ Boards (communication boards) will be available on all units. Android tablets are 
available in each participating ICU. No AAC application is planned yet for these devices.  
 
Potentially eligible participants (awake, alert/responsive, intubated ICU patients) will be identified by the critical 
care clinical research coordinators in collaboration with the critical care nurses, attending physicians, fellows, 
or clinical nurse specialist. The clinical research coordinator will then review the medical record and place 
records for all awake, alert/responsive, and intubated patients into the IHIS In-Basket for trained research staff 
to review and to insure that all eligibility criteria are met.  Following this confirmation of eligibility, the research 
staff will ask the bedside RN for introduction to the potential subject. Privacy protections will be observed as in 
Aims 1 & 2. Family members identified by the enrolled patient who are at least 18 years of age and read and 
understand English will be recruited for measures of psycho-emotional symptoms (Aim 5) and satisfaction 
survey (Aim 3) at discharge from the ICU. 

 
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Patients and family visitors in the intervention group will receive a protocolized instruction in the use of the 
VidaTalk application and mounting of the device including patient return demonstration of key features, and 
review/ testing to competence conducted by a trained AAC interventionist. When available, a family member 
will be included in the instruction and asked about preferred messages if patient agrees. The interventionist will 
visit patients briefly (5-10 minutes) each day to check user needs and concerns and will review or retrain on 
message options if needed. The interventionist will record all interactions in the interventionist log using the 
format established by Dr. Happ in the SPEACS trial.62 The VidaTalk app will be available until the patient is 
extubated or discharged from ICU whichever comes first. Patients randomized to the control group will receive 
a protocolized introduction to the bedside Android device without the VidaTalk app focused instead on a 
popular, simple game application which is standard on OSUMC bedside devices. Daily visits will be conducted 
with control group patients to query on use of the standard tablet apps. 
 
Data collection: Data will be collected for all participants by a trained research assistant (See Table 3). 
Demographic data (age, sex, race/ethnicity, ICU, number of days intubated prior to study enrollment, 
diagnosis, severity of illness (APACHE III) and comorbidity (Charlson Index), physical restraint) will be 
collected on enrollment. The data collector will conduct daily measures of physical restraint (covariate), 
communication difficulty (single item), frustration, anxiety, agitation, sedation exposure, and delirium for a 
maximum of 28 ICU days. In addition to the daily measures, patients in the experimental group will complete a 
13-item System Usability Scale (SUS)53 on study Day 2. Patients will be asked a single item satisfaction with 
care survey and to complete the 10-item Ease of Communication Scale17 (5 minutes) at ICU discharge. Family 
members identified by the patient will be invited to complete a 24-item Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care 
Unit  (FS-ICU)63 (10-15 minutes) at ICU discharge. 
Sample Size Justification:  A sample of 70 patients (35 in each arm) would provide the necessary variability 
in all measures to provide confidence in the judgment of “notable differences” in clinical outcomes and is 
reasonable to recruit from the ICUs in 8 months (5 per month for each group). Two groups of 35 provide 
greater than 80% power to detect medium size effects (dz = .5) within group using dependent t-tests at alpha = 
.05 and 80% power to detect medium size effects (d = .5) between groups using one-tailed independent t-tests 
at alpha = .10. This sample would provide greater than 80% power to detect a medium size effect (f2 = .15) in a 
multiple regression model with 3 predictors (i.e., intervention group, age, and acuity) at alpha = .05. We 
anticipate 35% attrition and so will recruit 95 participants.  
 
Table 3. Phase II, Aims 3 & 4 - Main Variables, Measures, Data Collection Time Points 
Variables 
Measures 
Data 
Source 
Cronbach’s  
Alpha 
T0 
T1 
T2 
T3 
Covariates    
Demographic information 
  
Severity of Illness 
 
Physical Restraint Use 
   
 
Demographic questionnaire (age, sex, race, days 
intubated prior to study, diagnosis) 
APACHE III54 
Charlson Comorbidity Scale64 
Physical Restraint – any part of day in physical 
restraint  
 
 
EHR 
 
EHR 
EHR 
EHR 
 
 
 
NA 
 
NA 
NA 
NA 
 
X 
 
X 
X 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fidelity - Usability 
Intervention 
Exposure/Dose 
 
 
Usability 
 
 
Intervention component checklist, time with 
patient (minutes/day),  
Reported patient use (qualitative category) 
 
System Usability Scale (SUS)53  
 
 
Log 
 
Patient 
 
Patient 
 
 
NA 
 
NA 
 
0.92 
 
 
X 
 
 
X 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
9
Patient Outcomes  
  Anxiety 
   
 
Sedation-Agitation 
  Sedation Exposure (24hr) 
  Delirium/Coma-Free Days 
  Communication Difficulty 
  & Frustration 
   
Satisfaction with ICU Care  
 
Visual Analogue Scale – Anxiety (VAS-a)65 
• 
Electronic 
• 
Paper 
Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS)66 
Midazolam and Opiate Equivalents67 
Confusion Assessment Method- ICU (CAM-ICU)68 
Ease of Communication Scale (ECS)69 
Communication Difficulty – single item scale62 
Frustration scale – single item scale18 
Family Satisfaction in the Intensive Care Unit (FS-
ICU)63 
Patient Satisfaction with Care – single item scale 
 
Patient 
 
 
Observer 
EHR 
Patient 
Patient 
Patient 
Patient 
Family 
 
Patient 
 
0.78 
 
 
NA 
NA 
NA 
0.93-.96 
NA 
NA 
0.88-.94 
 
NA 
 
 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
 
X 
X 
 
 
 
 
X 
X 
X 
X 
 
X 
X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X 
 
 
X 
 
X 
*T0= baseline/enrollment, T1 = daily in ICU x 28 days maximum; T2 = study day 2; T3 = ICU discharge/extubation; NA= not 
available/ not applicable; EHR = electronic health record 
 
Product Development: Vidatak will conduct a series of workshops that will use High Tech Anthropology® 
methods for creating and testing user designs that will be incorporated into prototypes, tested with participants 
from the community whom are critical care nurses or people whom had recently (<6 months) been a patient in 
an ICU. The iterative design process will likely involve over 20 design test kits testing with input from 20 
community participants. These procedures will stagger 2-3 formal product design workshops intended to 
solidify progressive staged prototypes for each user test groups at the OSU. Consultants Patak, Traughber and 
Costello will be provided summaries of each design assessment and provide insight and advisement 
throughout the process. Programming activities will follow recommendations that arise from each phase of user 
testing. 
 
At the conclusion of participant enrollment and data collection for Aim 3, ten critical care nurses who 
experienced use of the VidaTalk during communication with study patients will be recruited from the study units 
for variation in age, experience, gender and race/ethnicity to participate in a final focus group or individual 
interviews. The focus group or individual interviews will be conducted either in person in a hospital conference 
room, via Skype or Phone, led by Dr. Happ, using a semi-structured guide, and audio recorded. The individual 
interview options are designed to accommodate nurses who are unable to attend focus group sessions before 
or after a 12-hour shift but are willing to be interviewed remotely, Nurses will review the final versions of 
VidaTalk android and iPad applications providing feedback on the overall performance of VidaTalk and its 
ability to impact patient care, with particular emphasis on their willingness to facilitate and engage in patient 
communication with this device. Logistical aspects of providing both the android and iPad technology in the 
clinical setting will also be assessed along with clinical implications and acceptability of VidaTalk 
communicating with provider devices. 
 
Data analysis & interpretation: Qualitative data (patient feedback, nurse focus group transcripts) will be 
analyzed as stated above. The quantitative data will be cleaned and descriptive statistics will be estimated to 
ensure the quality of the data (check distributions, examine outliers) and to describe the sample (e.g., age, 
education, race/ethnicity). Data will be graphed to visually identify any patterns of change over time. Missing 
data are not expected to pose a problem; nevertheless, we will examine the nature of missingness in the data. 
If necessary, we will conduct analyses using Multiple Imputation (SAS 9.2). We will conduct appropriate 
bivariate tests for all clinical outcomes (i.e., sedation exposure, patient-reported frustration) using dependent t-
tests within groups and independent tests between groups for continuous outcomes and contingency table 
analyses for categorical outcomes. We will also construct change scores when there are notable differences 
and fit exploratory regression models predicting change scores by intervention group and two control variables.  
 
Potential pitfalls/alternative approaches: If a patient participant becomes fatigued (secondary to his/her 
medical condition) during data collection, breaks or rest will be provided and the research team will ask for 
permission to return later in the day to complete the assessment. 

 
10
 
Expected outcomes: The outcome of this research will provide functionality, usability, and acceptability data 
necessary to refine the product to a commercial version of VidaTalk for efficacy and comparison testing to 
other communication modalities and the standard of care (Aim 3). 
 
Phase II - Specific Aim 4. Develop an electronic version of the visual analog scale for anxiety (VAS-A) on an 
android tablet.  Evaluate the criterion validity of the electronic VAS-A for use among mechanically ventilated 
patients in the ICU who are participating in Aim 3.  
 
Rationale: Electronic measures of medical self-assessments and psychological inventories are becoming 
increasingly available and frequently used.  They offer various advantages over paper measures including 
more efficient data collection, data handling and analysis, and most importantly, increased patient compliance 
and recording accuracy.   For example, with the dissemination of computerized, psychological assessments 
growing, (e.g. in smartphone applications), the VAS-A can be embedded in internet-based protocols of therapy 
interventions.70 Completion of this Aim will establish the validity of an electronic mechanism for quickly and 
reliably capturing the state anxiety of a patient for more effective patient communication in the ICU. 
 
Procedures: All patients eligible to participate in Phase II, Aim 3 will participate in Aim 4. Patients will be 
randomized to the presentation order of the two anxiety assessment tools.  At baseline, anxiety will be 
assessed using both the electronic and paper versions of the VAS-A by the data collector.  On all subsequent 
days, the data collector will utilize the paper version of the VAS-A to assess patient anxiety.    
 
Data collection:  Patient assessment of anxiety will be collected by the data collector at baseline using both 
the electronic and paper versions of the tool as noted above.  Anxiety will be measured in millimeters on both 
the electronic and paper versions of the VAS-A tools.  
In addition to the millimeter measure of anxiety on both the electronic and paper versions of the VAS-A 
tools, we will capture the patient’s concerns or difficulties with touch sensitivity or screen brightness.   
 
Sample Size Justification:  A sample of 30 patients (assuming 35% attrition) would be sufficient to provide 
confidence in the criterion validity of the electronic VAS-A with 80% power, alpha=0.05 with a Cronbach 
correlation coefficient of r = 0.6.  However, all patients enrolled in both arms of Aim 3 will participate in Aim 4 
for a total of 70 participants for similar exposure. 
 
Data Analysis:  We will use qualitative analysis to describe the average level of patient concerns or difficulties, 
such as touch sensitivity or screen brightness preferred by patients. Criterion validity between the electronic 
and paper versions of the VAS-A will be determined by calculating a Cronbach’s alpha in a correlation 
analysis. Finally, we will determine if there is a significant difference between the preferred versions of the 
VAS-A utilizing a bivariate, dependent t-test and contingency table analyses for categorical outcomes (Chi-
squared).   
 
Potential pitfalls/alternative approaches:  Per the procedure in Aim 3, if a patient participant becomes 
fatigued (secondary to his/her medical condition) during data collection, breaks or rest will be provided and the 
research team will ask for permission to return later in the day to complete the anxiety assessment. 
 
Expected outcomes: This study will establish the criterion validity of a newly developed, electronic VAS-A on 
an android tablet which can be used to improve the effectiveness of patient communication and contribute to 
the standardization of care for critically ill patients.  
 
Phase II - Specific Aim 5.a) Test the preliminary efficacy of VidaTalk compared to attention control (AC) on 
anxiety and depression symptoms in family caregivers during the ICU stay and post-discharge (1-mos; 3-mos; 
6-mos) and PTSD-related symptoms post-discharge. b) Examine the role of the family caregivers’ perceived 
communication difficulty in moderating the effects of VidaTalk on the caregiver’s psychological symptoms. c) 

 
11
Explore the family caregiver’s perceptions of communication with, or without, VidaTalk and their emotional 
experience in communicating with a patient family member during critical illness and MV treatment.   
 
Rationale:  Comparison of family caregivers with and without exposure to the VidaTalk communication tool will 
provide basic knowledge of the potential efficacy of VidaTalk as an intervention to prevent or alleviate adverse 
psychological outcomes such as anxiety, depressive symptoms, and PTSD-related symptoms in family 
caregivers following the ICU admission and mechanical ventilation of a family patient. Qualitative interviews 
with family caregivers will help us better understand their communication experience, how the VidaTalk 
influences their communication with a family member/patient in ICUs, and how they feel while communicating 
with the family patient before and after using the VidaTalk. 
 
Design/methods: A nested, mixed methods design with repeated measures is planned for Aim 5. The 
qualitative phase of the study will be devoted to exploring family caregivers’ experience of communication with 
or without VidaTalk while they were visiting the family in ICUs and their emotional reactions to communication 
with a family member- patient during critical illness and MV (Aim 5.c.).  
 
Sampling procedures: Family caregivers of patient participants enrolled in the clinical efficacy trial (Aim 3) will 
be recruited. A family caregiver is defined as “the person who is primarily responsible for the patient’s 
treatment, care decisions and providing care after hospital discharge without financial compensation; the 
person with whom the patient has a significant relationship; the person does not have to be a blood 
relative.”71,72 A patient may have more than one family caregivers who are responsible for the patient’s care, 
and each family member can have a different role in communication with the patient. One or more family 
caregivers for each patient can be recruited as identified by the patient and/or by the family caregiver. Potential 
family participants identified by the patient, clinicians, or by family members themselves who meet the eligibility 
criteria will be provided information about the study purpose and procedures and verbal consent will be 
obtained for study participation. If an eligible family caregiver is not present at patient enrollment, informed 
consent will be obtained over the phone. All participants will be informed about the possibility of an optional 
qualitative interview after the discharge. A purposeful sampling procedure will be used for the qualitative phase 
Family caregiver participants in the intervention group ; a total of 10-15 participants will be recruited to 
participate in the qualitative interview after discharge. 
 
 
Procedures: The enrolled family participants whose family patient is assigned to the intervention group will be 
informed that their family patient may communicate with or without the VidaTalk while family visit. Over the 
clinical efficacy test phase (Aim 3), the bedside Android device with the VidaTalk application and a user 
instruction card will be available for the patient participants in the intervention group until they are extubated or 
discharged from ICU. Each visit, the family caregivers will be asked to complete a visitor log.  The visitor log 
will ask about visiting start/end time, who is visiting, the use of VidaTalk (yes or no), and a question about 
communication topics during the visit. The family participants whose family patient is assigned to the attention 
control group will receive the standard of care regarding communication. When they are visiting the patient, 
writing tools (paper and pen), and occasionally, picture or alphabet communication charts will be provided for 
communication at the discretion of the bedside nurse. Each visit, the family caregivers in the attention control 
group will be asked to complete a visitor log. The visitor log will ask about visiting start/end time (start and 
end), who is visiting, the use of the MyChart Bedside and/or game app (yes or no), and the topic of 
communication during the visit.  
Data Collection: Baseline assessment will be performed after consent. Baseline assessment includes 
demographic information, communication difficulty (Family Communication Survey),74 anxiety (HADS-A),73 and 
depression symptoms (HADS-D)73 in family participants. Family participants’ demographics include age, 
gender, race, highest education level, occupation, and relationship to the patient. Previous ICU experience as 
a patient or a family caregiver prior to this hospitalization will be also assessed at baseline. Patient’s 
demographic characteristics including age, gender, and race and clinical characteristics such as severity of 
illness, primary diagnosis, physical restraint use, ICU/hospital length of stay, the length of time on MV will be 

 
12
obtained from the electronic medical record (EMR). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)73 
will be performed at baseline (enrollment) and at patient’s extubation or ICU discharge to measure anxiety and 
depression symptoms for family participants. Total scores out of 42 (21 per subscale) will be derived by 
summing responses for each of the two subscales (HADS-A and HADS-D) performed at baseline and at 
extubation/ICU discharge. Family caregivers’ communication difficulty and satisfaction with communication will 
be measured using the Family Communication Survey (FCS) at patient’ ICU discharge or extubation whichever 
comes first. At one month after the ICU discharge,  anxiety (HADS-A), depression (HADS-D), and PTSD-
related symptoms (The Impact of Event Scale-revised (IES-R)) will be measured by one of the methods 
including electronic surveys via email, mailing surveys, or telephone interview depending on the participant’s 
preference.75,76 Participants who do not respond to electronic/mailing surveys will receive at least two 
telephone contact attempts for survey completion. Psychological outcomes including anxiety, depression, and 
PTSD-related symptoms will be followed until six months after the ICU discharge. The same procedure will be 
repeated at three and six months after the ICU discharge. At each follow-up assessment, the additional 
experience of being a caregiver of ICU patient or being admitted to an ICU as a patient during the study will be 
assessed. Whether or not family caregivers get any help from psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, any 
institutional services for their psychological problems, and use of psychoactive medications during the study 
will be identified by self-report at each time point. Additionally, whether or not the patient returns home or goes 
to long-term care facilities will be assessed at ICU discharge and one month follow-up time point.  
 
Qualitative Interview: The selected family participants for the interview will answer open-ended questions 
asking about their perception of communication with and without VidaTalk. The interview guide (Box 1) was 
designed to elicit the family caregiver’s ideas and opinions about how the use of VidaTalk influenced 
communication with the MV patient and their emotional reactions. The interview guide will ensure that the key 
issues are addressed and the interview flow is maintained during the interview. Qualitative interviews will be 
performed using e-mail interview method. There are several advantages of e-mail interview method. It will 
reduce time and cost of travel for the interview and intrusion of technology such as audiotaping or microphone. 
Moreover, the email interview is the raw data itself and there is no need for transcription, which eliminates 
transcription reliability issue.77 The participants will be contacted via secure e-mail at a time point after the ICU 
discharge before 1-mos follow-up to be proximal to the family caregiver’s experience without losing their ability 
to recall. The e-mail interview will involve a maximum of three cycles. The initial cycle will contain several 
questions of a general experience of communication with their family member while they were visiting in the 
ICU (question 1-3). That will be followed by the second cycle with questions of conversation that they had with 
their family member in the ICU (question 4 & 5) and the last cycle with the question asking their suggestions for 
the use of the VidaTalk for the future family caregivers (question 6).  The questions will be constructed based 
on the interview guide, and analysis of participant’s answers in each previous cycle will allow the interviewer to 
ask for more details while developing the next set of questions.77    
 
Box 1. Interview Guide for Qualitative Analysis 
 
Questions 
Cycle 1 
1. We’d like to know about your experience using the tablet computer and VidaTalk application to 
communicate with your family member while you were visiting in the ICU. Can you tell me about that 
experience? 
2. How often did your family member use the VidaTalk to communicate? What other methods of 
communication did you use? 
3. How did you feel when you were communicating with [patient’s name] after starting to use the 
VidaTalk? 

 
13
Cycle 2 
4. What messages were communicated using the VidaTalk?  
5. Tell me about what conversation had the most impact on you? Which conversation was the most 
meaningful? Which conversation bothered you at most?  
Cycle 3 
6. What suggestions do you have for other family caregivers of patients receiving mechanical ventilation 
who may use or assist in the use of the VidaTalk to communicate? 
 
Data analysis & interpretation: The quantitative data will be cleaned and descriptive statistics (mean and 
standard deviation (SD) for continuous variables and frequency and percentage for categorical variables) will 
be used to describe relevant demographics and characteristics of the sample. Data screening and preliminary 
analysis will first be performed for data anomalies such as outliers or normality. The results from this analysis 
will: 1) describe data distributions; 2) evaluate the amount and patterns of missing data; 3) identify the 
associations between variables such as possible imbalances between groups and associations between the 
independent variables and suspected covariates; and 4) check for violation of underlying statistical 
assumptions for the primary analyses planned. If assumptions are violated, data transformations or more 
statistically robust procedures (e.g., nonparametric approaches) will be considered as alternative options. 
 
Analysis plan for Aim 5.a.) To test the effect of VidaTalk on psychological outcomes in family participants, I 
will compare those psychological outcomes between two groups at each time point and across time. I will 
conduct mixed effect modeling to estimate the intervention effect on outcome measures (anxiety, depression, 
and PTSD-related symptoms). Mixed effect modeling for repeated measures will estimate the intervention 
effect at each time point by including the time of assessment and group as predictor variables. Mixed effect 
modeling also will model the change across time using a time by group interaction to determine if the two 
groups have different patterns of change in outcomes over time. I also will adjust for covariates that may 
impact those psychological outcomes as indicated by the results of our exploratory analyses. 
that may impact those psychological outcomes.  
Analysis plan for Aim 5.b.) Family caregivers’ perceived communication difficulty measured by a structured 
instrument (FCS) will be tested as a potential moderator. Using mixed effect modeling, the potential moderator 
will be crossed with intervention and included as a fixed interaction term in the model. If a significant 
moderating effect is identified in this analysis, it will provide pilot data for the further understanding of the 
mechanisms of intervention effect. 
Analysis plan for Aim 5.c.) The qualitative data (e-mail interviews) will be transferred into ATLAS_ti (Version 
7.5.18) for data management.  Basic qualitative description and constant comparative techniques will be used 
to code and analyze the text. This strategy involves taking one piece of data and comparing it with all others 
that may have similarities or differences to develop conceptualizations of the possible relations between 
various pieces of data.78 Each interview will be read several times and then coded to identify initial themes. 
The line-by-line examination will be done to label meaning units, and additional codes may be added, or 
existing codes may be modified as the analysis continues. Recurring themes across transcripts will be 
identified using constant comparison and matrix construction .79 With the dynamic and cyclic process, recurring 
patterns, new issues, and the connections linking themes will be identified.  
Qualitative and quantitative data will be combined to amplify findings and identify within case and between 
case differences. The qualitative coding will be transformed to dichotomous variables that will be combined 
with quantitative data from the same caregivers. Mixed data matrices will be constructed to detect 
patterns/differences among psychological outcome phenotype groups by between-group comparisons. 
Moreover, the matrices will display the potential relationship between interview responses and demographic 
characteristics such as caregiver age, gender, relationship to patient, and VidaTalk usage from the visiting log 
to identify patterns and interpretations of the effect of the VidaTalk on family caregivers’ psychological 
symptoms not initially recognized from single method analysis alone. 
 
 
 

 
14
Potential pitfalls/alternative approaches 
a) Emotional distress during data collection: Interviews will be stopped if a subject becomes emotionally 
distressed, and telephone numbers for mental health support will be provided. In addition, if a subject is found 
to be at risk for severe anxiety/depressive symptoms or sounds/appears suicidal, telephone numbers for 
mental health support will be provided and the interviewer will arrange for transportation to an emergency 
room, a mental health care provider, or the subject’s primary care provider as desired by the subject. 
b) Suicidal or emotionally distressed participants: If a participant is found to be at risk for high risk for major 
depression (HADS-D score of 15 or greater) or PTSD (IES-R score of  37 or greater), mental health resources 
will be provided, and he/she will be encouraged to contact their provider to schedule an appointment for 
evaluation. If the participant reports that they are actively suicidal, 911 will be called or the person taken 
directly to an emergency department.  
c) For the family participants whose family patient has died, we will send a sympathy card to express our 
condolences to them and appreciation for their participation. 
 
 
 
 
 
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