Lighting the Way to Recovery After the ICU

Funded by the National Institute on Aging (R01 AG079916; PI: Ferrante)

Half of adults aged 65 and older will not achieve functional recovery after a critical illness. This can mean a loss of independence—and maintaining functional independence is the health priority that “matters most” to older adults.

In pilot work with older ICU survivors, participants described needs that they felt would have helped them achieve functional recovery had those needs been met. These areas of unmet need were different than those that had been described in prior work with younger ICU survivors. For example, we found that older adults were generally well-connected to their doctors, and that unmet medication needs were rare.

In the LANTERN study, older ICU survivors are enrolled after they return home from the hospital after a critical illness (whether they return home directly or stay in a short-term rehabilitation facility first). We visit the older adult in their home and thoroughly assess their unmet needs in different areas. Participants are then called monthly for six months to evaluate disability in functional activities, readmissions, and other outcomes.

After the last phone interview, a subset of LANTERN participants and their caregivers will be selected for in-depth interviews. In these interviews, we will discuss facilitators and barriers to addressing unmet needs after critical illness. With the data gathered in LANTERN, we will build interventions to address unmet needs after critical illness to promote functional recovery for older ICU survivors.

Eligible patients for LANTERN are identified upon discharge from the ICU and approached prior to hospital discharge. If you think you or your loved one may be eligible for the LANTERN study and would like to participate, please contact the LANTERN team.