Pilot Testing of the Teaching Engagement and Caregiving Help in the Intensive Care Unit (TEACH-ICU) Scale

Abstract

Background Family members often assume caregiving responsibilities after a patient’s discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU). Many family members are inadequately prepared due to limited training and support. Intensive care unit nurses can prepare family members to perform caregiving by proactively teaching family members in the ICU. However, no quantitative measure exists to examine nurses’ willingness to teach caregiving skills to family members. Objectives To examine the Teaching Engagement and Caregiving Help in the ICU (TEACH-ICU) scale, adapted from the Family Willingness for Caregiving Scale. Refinements from cognitive interviews readied the TEACH-ICU scale for pilot testing to assess the broader survey process before examining the scale’s validity and reliability in a larger-scale study. Methods This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study of 30 adult ICU nurses recruited via convenience and snowball sampling through social media platforms and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Participate in Research website. Relationship testing was conducted between the TEACH-ICU scale, Hospital Ethical Climate Survey (HECS), and Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale–Short Form (MCSDS–Short Form). Results The TEACH-ICU scale showed high mean willingness scores across all items. The TEACH-ICU total scores significantly correlated with HECS total scores and 4 subscales: peers, managers, hospital, and physicians. No significant relationship was observed between TEACH-ICU scores and social desirability scores. Conclusions The scale and survey process were modified based on this pilot study’s results, in preparation for examining the validity and reliability of the TEACH-ICU scale.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. American Journal of Critical Care, 2026 · DOI ↗