# Family-Centered Co-Design of a Technology-Facilitated Intervention for Family Caregivers of Critical Care Survivors

> **NIH VA IK2** · VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION · 2024 · —

## Abstract

Background: Family caregivers play a central role during a Veteran’s critical care (medical care for a life-
threatening illness or injury) hospitalization and survivorship. Yet, up to 73% of caregivers experience anxiety
and 97% experience depression during a critically ill patient’s hospital stay, compromising their engagement
with the clinical team, their readiness for the survivor journey and can impair patient recovery. Addressing
family caregiver needs, including informational and emotional processing, social support and self-care, during
key moments early in a family’s crisis may moderate the development of caregiver psychological distress.
Significance/Impact: Supporting family caregivers is important for promoting caregiver well-being,
engagement with the clinical team and Veteran outcomes during hospitalization and survivorship. This work
addresses several VA priorities. Specifically, VA HRO values support family-centered approaches to care and
the MISSION Act has increased supportive resources for Veteran family caregivers. While formal (paid)
caregivers are commonly aware of and access these resources, informal caregivers—such as family
caregivers of critically ill Veterans—are a missed yet vulnerable population. VA virtual care technologies (an
HSR&D priority) may be an effective way to provide these caregivers with psychosocial resources to mitigate
psychological distress and link them to VA programs that support caregivers and Veterans after
hospitalization. In addition to helping family caregivers, this work supports Dr. Blok’s career goal of becoming
a leading nurse researcher and implementation scientist in the VA, with a program of research in Veteran and
family-facing intervention and implementation program design.
Innovation: This research will create an intervention for family caregivers, with family caregivers, by using
visual participatory methods, such as PhotoVoice, to understand support needs, and user-centered design
principles to co-design an intervention with Veteran family caregivers to meet these needs. Drawing on Crisis
Theory principles, this work extends beyond providing medical information, to address ‘crisis-solving’ needs,
including information processing, emotional processing, social support and self-care, essential elements for
reducing anxiety and distress. Finally, available VA virtual care technologies will be used to deliver
intervention components to caregivers in crisis, which is a new application of these resources.
Specific Aims: Aim 1. Identify how family caregiver experiences and needs evolve while their critically ill
Veteran is hospitalized. Aim 2. Design a psychosocial support intervention with family caregivers, for family
caregivers. Aim 3. Test the feasibility of a psychosocial support intervention for family caregivers.
Methodology: In years 1-3, advanced qualitative and participatory research methods will be used to examine
common key moments in the caregiver experience that can lead to di...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10848196
- **Project number:** 5IK2HX003530-02
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Amanda Constance Blok
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-05-01 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10848196

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10848196, Family-Centered Co-Design of a Technology-Facilitated Intervention for Family Caregivers of Critical Care Survivors (5IK2HX003530-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10848196. Licensed CC0.

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