ICU StoryWeb provides a forum for coping and healing after the loss of a loved one in the ICU.

ICU StoryWeb provides a forum for coping and healing following the loss of a loved one in the intensive care unit (ICU) after a decision to limit life support. The University of Pittsburgh-based online platform’s crowdfunding campaign kicked off Tuesday, May 26th and runs through Sunday, July 19th. Money raised during the campaign will go toward recording additional storytelling sessions, editing by a professional producer, and ultimately, underwriting the cost of incorporation as a non-profit organization. The unchanging reality is that many families face the difficult decision to limit life support for a loved one. ICU StoryWeb can help families navigate their grief and cope with this decision.

The stories of families who struggle after an ICU death are not rare occurrences. In fact, one in five deaths occur in an ICU. Nine out of ten of these deaths involve a decision to limit life support. Patients are usually too sick to participate in these decisions, so clinicians ask families for help.

Participating in life support decisions places a significant burden on families, even when they are following a loved one’s stated wishes. In the aftermath of making these decisions, most family members will experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or complicated grief.

That’s where ICU StoryWeb comes in. ICU StoryWeb offers a welcoming, online community where people who are grieving can listen to other people’s stories and share their own stories. It is the first tool designed specifically to support ICU families in the acute bereavement period. This storytelling forum is more than just another social network – there is decades of research that prove storytelling after a traumatic event, such as the loss of a loved one in the ICU, actually improves mental and emotional well-being. ICU StoryWeb can harness the power of storytelling to help ICU families make meaning from their experiences.

Check out the website and donate today: pitt.scalefunder.com

Contact:

Rachel Butler
University of Pittsburgh
412-692-4874
rab192@pitt.edu