During stays in the Intensive Care Unit patients are at a higher risk of delirium, PTSD, and other diseases. The powerful life-saving treatments used in Intensive Care Units can have serious long-term effects on patients’ health.
Research by Principal Investigator Babar Khan has already shown that patients who can get up and move during their ICU stays have a better chance at avoiding delirium and having better health outcomes from the ICU, but DDD-ECT looks to grow our knowledge and see what other habits can help avoid bad outcomes.
DDD-ECT is a research study through the Indiana University Center for Aging Research that wants to learn how physical exercise and mental exercise (cognitive therapy) might help ICU survivors reduce their odds of getting dementia or delirium.
In the program, participants are put into one of four groups. Some groups will receive stretching exercises to help physical fitness. Some groups will receive thought exercises, like puzzles and brain teasers, to help brain health recovery. One group will not receive either stretching or brain teasers.
All four groups will receive check-ins from our staff three months after signing up for the study, and six months after signing up for the study. During these check-ins, patients will be asked for information about their health and life to measure their recovery from the ICU, and what effects the exercises might be having on patients’ quality of life.
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