Children's psychological and behavioral responses following pediatric intensive care unit hospitalization: The caring intensively study

Abstract

Background: Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) hospitalization places children at increased risk of persistentpsychological and behavioral difficulties following discharge. Despite tremendous advances in medical technologyand treatment regimes, approximately 25% of children demonstrate negative psychological and behavioraloutcomes within the first year post-discharge. It is imperative that a broader array of risk factors and outcome indicatorsbe explored in examining long-term psychological morbidity to identify areas for future health promotion and clinicalintervention. This study aims to examine psychological and behavioral responses in children aged 3 to 12 years over athree year period..