Journal article
The sepsis journey and where digital alerts can help: a qualitative, interview study with survivors and family members in England
- Abstract:
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Introduction: The fight against sepsis is an ongoing healthcare challenge, where digital tools are increasingly used with some promising results. The experience of survivors and their family members can help optimize digital alerts for sepsis/deterioration. This study pairs the experiences of survivors of their sepsis journey and family members with their knowledge and views on the role of digital alerts.
Methods: A qualitative study with online, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with sepsis survivors and family members in England. Data were analyzed inductively using thematic analysis.
Results: We included 11 survivors, and 5 family members recruited via sepsis charities and other social media, for a total of 15 sepsis cases. Identified categories correspond to the three stages of the sepsis journey: 1. Pre-hospital, onset symptoms and help-seeking; 2. Hospital admission and stay; 3. Post-sepsis syndrome. The role of digital alerts at each stage of the sepsis journey is discussed. Participants’ experiences were varied, previous sepsis awareness scant, and knowledge of digital alerts minimal. However, participants were confident in the potential of alerts contributing along the sepsis journey. They perceived digital alerts as important in healthcare professionals’ decision-making to expedite identification and treatment of sepsis and suggested their expansion across healthcare services. Participants expressed that awareness should be increased among the general public about digital alerts for sepsis/deterioration.
Discussion: In light of sepsis’ insidious and variable manifestation, the involvement of patients and family members in the development of digital alerts is crucial to optimize their design and deployment towards improving outcomes. Digital alerts should enhance the connection across healthcare services as well as the care quality. They should also enhance the communication between patients and healthcare professionals.
Clinical trial registration: The ClinicalTrials.gov registration identifier for this study is NCT05741801; the protocol ID is 16347.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 316.6KB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1521761
Authors
- Publisher:
- Frontiers Media
- Journal:
- Frontiers in Public Health More from this journal
- Volume:
- 13
- Article number:
- 1521761
- Publication date:
- 2025-03-26
- Acceptance date:
- 2025-03-10
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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2296-2565
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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2101437
- Local pid:
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pubs:2101437
- Deposit date:
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2025-03-31
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Lazzarino et al
- Copyright date:
- 2025
- Rights statement:
- © 2025 Lazzarino, Borek, Brent, Welch, Honeyford, Daniels, Kinderlerer, Cooke, Patil, Gordon, Goodman, Glampson, Ghazal, Costelloe and Tonkin-Crine. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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