Communication BarriersNCT07796035
Understanding Communication Barriers in Acute Care: A Mixed-Methods Needs Assessment Among Healthcare Providers Caring for Non-Verbal Patients With Spinal Cord Injury and Tracheostomy in the ICU
An observational study of Communication Barriers, run by University of British Columbia at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
Communication impairment is common among critically ill patients who are mechanically ventilated, have tracheostomies, or have neurological injuries such as spinal cord injury. In acute care settings, inability to communicate contributes to patient distress, impairs symptom assessment, and may delay care. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Communication Barriers
- How many people
- 100 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- Aug 2026to Dec 2027
- How long will I take part?
- 1 Day
- Phase
- Observational
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: Care givers to the non-verbal patients with communication barrier
Who may be able to join
- be a healthcare provider such as physicians, registered nurses, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, or physiotherapists;
- work in ICU, spine, neurosurgical, or related acute care inpatient settings;
- have experience caring for patients with impaired verbal communication, including patients with tracheostomy, mechanical ventilation, or spinal cord injury; and
- be able to provide informed consent. A small subset of family caregivers may also be included if they have direct experience supporting communication for patients with impaired verbal communication in these settings.
Who cannot join
- Individuals not directly involved in the care of patients with impaired verbal communication in the relevant clinical settings
- Trainees who are not yet independently practicing, unless they are participating in an independent clinical role
- Family caregivers without direct experience supporting communication needs in the acute care setting
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Shirley Lim, BSN, BS-HRIM contact
About this study
Communication impairment is common among critically ill patients who are mechanically ventilated, have tracheostomies, or have neurological injuries such as spinal cord injury. In acute care settings, inability to communicate contributes to patient distress, impairs symptom assessment, and may delay care. Although a range of communication supports exist, many are difficult to use in patients with severe weakness, limited endurance, or fluctuating cognition. More advanced assistive communication systems, including eye-tracking and brain-computer interface platforms, have shown promise in chronic neurological populations but have not been well adapted to the practical realities of acute care.
This study will use a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design to better understand communication barriers in acute care from the perspective of frontline healthcare providers. In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with nurses and speech-language pathologists working with patients who have spinal cord injury, tracheostomy, or other causes of impaired verbal communication in ICU and related acute care settings. Findings from these interviews will inform development of a structured survey to be distributed to a broader group of nurses and speech-language pathologists. Qualitative and quantitative findings will then be integrated to identify priority communication needs, limitations of current strategies, and practical requirements for future assistive communication tools. Findings will inform development of clinically relevant communication solutions for acute care environments.
Read the detailed description
This study will employ a two-stage sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. In the first stage, semi-structured interviews (N=10-15) and, where feasible, focus groups will be conducted with ICU clinicians and rehabilitation staff to identify communication barriers and priority use cases for assistive communication in nonverbal patients. Themes emerging from qualitative analysis will inform the development of a structured survey, which will be administered to a broader cohort of clinical staff (N=80-100) to quantify the prevalence and relative importance of identified communication gaps. Findings from the qualitative and quantitative phases will be integrated to generate a clinical requirements framework to inform the future development of assistive communication tools for acute care settings.
- Conditions
- Communication Barriers
- Keywords
- communication barrier, tracheostomy, spinal cord injury, survey, mechanical ventilation
- Medical subject headings
- Spinal Cord Injuries
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
High-priority Communication Needs in Acute Care
Communication needs identified as high priority by healthcare providers based on their ratings of the importance and frequency of communication needs experienced by patients with impaired verbal communication in acute care settings. The survey will also assess which communication functions healthcare providers consider most important for inclusion in future assistive communication interfaces.
Measured: At completion of the 3-5-minute survey on Day 1
Priority of Communication Needs in Acute Care
Healthcare providers' ratings of the importance and frequency of communication needs experienced by patients with impaired verbal communication in acute care settings. Priority communication needs will be identified through thematic analysis of interviews and quantified in the Stage 2 survey using importance and frequency ratings.
Measured: Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4
Secondary outcomes (3)
Current Communication Strategies and Perceived Limitations
Identification and characterization of communication strategies currently used by healthcare providers, including low-technology and augmentative and alternative communication approaches, and perceived limitations or barriers associated with their use. Findings will be derived from qualitative interviews and summarized quantitatively in the survey where applicable.
Measured: Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4
Priority Communication Functions for Bedside Use
Healthcare providers' prioritization of communication functions considered most appropriate for a simplified bedside assistive communication interface. Participants will select a limited number of communication functions from those identified during the qualitative phase.
Measured: Stage 2 survey; approximately Month 4
Workflow and Implementation Feasibility Requirements
Healthcare providers' perceptions of practical requirements for implementing assistive communication tools in acute care, including acceptable setup time, training requirements, workflow integration, and environmental or clinical barriers.
Measured: Stage 1 interviews and Stage 2 survey; approximately Months 3-4
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted31 Aug 2026
- Study startAug 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completionDec 2027 (estimated)
- Study completionDec 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Communication BarriersStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of British ColumbiaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (estimated)
- Target duration
- 1 Day
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of British Columbia
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Vancouver General Hospital
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Jason Chui, University of British Columbia
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07796035
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- H26-01406
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 28 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 31 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: This study involves survey data only. Additional approval is required to share the data.