Family-administered delirium screening improves satisfaction among ICU caregivers: a prospective cohort study

Intensive Care Medicine | Published: 08 January 2026

Purpose

Family caregivers experience distress when their loved one is in the ICU, particularly in the setting of delirium. Limited English proficiency (LEP) may worsen this experience and contribute to long-term psychological burden. Yet, caregivers with LEP are rarely included in ICU research. Whether caregiver engagement using linguistically tailored delirium assessments improves satisfaction remains unknown.

Methods

We conducted a prospective cohort study in two academic ICUs evaluating delirium detection among English and Spanish-speaking ICU patients. Within this larger study, we performed a substudy of patient–caregiver dyads focused on caregiver satisfaction. Caregivers were assigned to: (1) FAM-CAM group, in which caregivers completed daily FAM-CAM delirium assessments, or (2) control group with no FAM-CAM exposure. All caregivers completed the Family Satisfaction in the ICU-24 (FS-ICU-24) after 3 days. Outcomes included overall satisfaction and subdomains of decision-making and care (0–100 scale). Independent t-tests compared satisfaction by language, FAM-CAM exposure, and patient delirium status.

Results

Among 120 dyads, 63 caregivers preferred English and 57 Spanish. English-speaking caregivers reported higher decision-making satisfaction than Spanish speakers (90.8 vs 85.6, p < 0.05). FAM-CAM exposure improved overall satisfaction across language groups (91.9 vs 84.4, p < 0.01). Patient delirium was linked to lower caregiver satisfaction, but FAM-CAM engagement mitigated this effect, with higher scores among exposed caregivers (90.9 vs 80.3, p < 0.05).

Conclusions

English-speaking caregivers reported higher satisfaction scores than Spanish-speaking caregivers. Engagement with FAM-CAM improved satisfaction across language groups, highlighting its potential to enhance caregiver engagement and promote equity in the ICU.