The World PICU Awareness Week Committee exists to raise awareness about #PedsICU in general and any important themes impacting the specialty by engaging members and key stakeholders in awareness and advocacy activities at a global and regional level. This 7 day event culminates in World PICU Awareness Day on the 2nd Friday of May, annually.
This year’s campaign will focus on the theme “The Family in the PICU”. Each region will choose a topic relevant to their region and organise a 45min pre-recorded webinar which will be launched on their awareness and will include a live Q&A component at a time convenient to each region. The World PICU Day will be organised by WFPICCS.
World PICU Awareness Week 2022 focused on The Family in the PICU, recognizing the essential role families play in the recovery, resilience, and emotional well-being of critically ill children. Through regionally led webinars, each exploring unique cultural, social, and medical perspectives, the week aimed to deepen understanding of family-centered care across the globe. The initiative culminated in World PICU Day, led by WFPICCS, bringing together families and healthcare teams to reflect on the shared human experience that defines paediatric critical care.
Across regions, the week highlighted how involving families in decision-making, daily care, and emotional support strengthens outcomes and humanizes intensive care.
From Oceania’s focus on whānau to Asia’s diverse models of family-centered practice, the sessions revealed how cultural context and collaboration guide compassionate care.
Whether through structured communication, psychological support, or simple presence, listening to families transforms the PICU from a place of crisis into one of partnership and trust.
Title: Families in PICU: Perspectives from Oceania
1. Aotearoa, Inequality and the Whanau (Family) – Alex Hussey, New Zealand
2. Supporting the Whanau (Family) through the PICU journey – Teresa Campbell, New Zealand
3. “Just popped in for a chat”: Establishing a psychology service in The Royal Children’s Hospital’s PICU – Tara-Jane Clark, Australia
4. The Outback to Brisbane: The challenges of a hospital with a huge catchment – Sophie Weeks, Michelle Maunder, Sarah McMahon, Australia
5. EMPATHIC-30 AUS questionnaire: empowering parents in PICU – Fenella Gill, Australia
Title: Discussion of experience, pros and cons of family involvement in the PICU throughout the organ donation process
1. Parent perspective – Jennifer Wolfsmith, Canada
Multidisciplinary team:
2. Physician perspective – Sonny Dhanani, Canada
(interviewer/recorder: Michael-Alice Moga)
3. Child life perspective – Alexis Shinewald, Canada
(interviewer/recorder: Casey Brodhagen)
4. Nursing perspective – Lisa Remshik, USA
5. Social worker perspective – Maricel Floresca, USA
Title: Families in the PICU: Perspectives from Latin America & The Caribbean
1. Advances in our vision of intensive care in Latin America: Indicators and Education in Latin American PICUs – Jaime Fernández-Sarmiento, Colombia; Raffo Escalante, Peru; Luis Moya, Guatemala; Cintia Johnston, Brazil; Marta Márquez, México; Silvio Torres, Argentina
2. Family and the multidisciplinary team in the PICU: Reality of Latin America – Rocío Yerovi, Ecuador; Fabiola Castro, Chile; EU. Natalia Henao, Colombia; EU. Ana Paula Bautzer, Brazil; EU. Milagritos López, Peru
3. Planning the multidisciplinary discharge from the PICU of medically complex patients: Adapting the model to their needs –Francisco Cambra, Spain; Alejandra Cortés, Chile; Klgo. Santiago Martínez, Chile; TO. Adriano Conrado, Brazil; Klgo. Sebastián Godoy, Chile.
1. Welcome – Manal Alasnag, Saudi Arabia
2. Sharing Experiences – A journey around the Middle East – Nilufer Ozturk, Turkey; Fajer Altammar, Kuwait; Razann Babakr, Saudi Arabia
3. Needs of mothers and fathers throughout the hospitalization of their chronic critically ill child – Chantel Grandjean, Switzerland
4. I Was A Parent In PICU – Paulien Raymakers- Janssen, The Netherlands
5. Facilitating Organ Donation – Greatest Gift in Life: A Parent’s Lived Experience – Ilse Fieldsend, UK
6. The Art of Listening – Esse Menson, UK
7. Panel & Moderator Introductions – Akash Deep, UK
1. Introduction – Ilse Appel, South Africa
2. Cultural diversity in the ICU – Stephilia Tshukutsoane, South Africa
3. “Thula baba” – critical caregiving practices – Brenda Morrow, South Africa
4. Inclusion of caregivers in rehabilitation in PICUs / Shared ICUs – Idah Sendagala, Uganda
5. Socio-economic burden of families of children admitted to Paediatric Intensive Care Units in Low-Middle Income countries – Lincoln Solomon, South Africa
1. Family-centered care in Asia – Yujiro Matsuishi, Japan
2. Family-centered care in South Korea – Hwa Jin Cho, South Korea
3. Family-centered care in The Philippines – Paula Evangelista, Philippines
4. Family-centered care in Pakistan – Sunita Bahadue Ali, Pakistan
5. A Day in the PICU – Chor Yek Kee, Malaysia
6. Parental experiences in the PICU – Mak Wei Lan, Singapore
7. Families in PICU – An experience from India – Milind Jambagi AND Mrs Alam, Mr Rajshekar (parents), Sister Suvarna, Drs Ravikiran, Ranganath
A number of individuals both family members and PICU staff will answer the following questions:
1. Questions for Families
a. What did the PICU/healthcare team do during your hospital stay that was most helpful to you as a family?
b. What happened during your PICU stay that was the hardest or most frustrating?
Questions for PICU staff
a. What practices are most important to optimize the care of patients and family during pediatric critical illness?
b. What are the greatest barriers to provide the best family centered care during pediatric critical illness?
Then for the live Q&A after the videos, we will ask the participants the following question:
a. With your regional practices and resources in mind, what do you think are the top 3 best practices for family centered care in the PICU/pediatric critical illness?